Adultery is voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and someone other than the lawful spouse. So Dagny's only adulterous relationship was with Hank Rearden. I believe the relationship was meant to show Rearden's error in not applying his moral code to his personal life.

Suite Judy Blue Eyes??? Love the one your with?.... I never bought into that hippy life style either tylerhernandez09, I, too, find that incredibly wrongheaded on a lot of levels. Not to be doing it but to talk about it like it is right. If you want to be a slut be it but don't take umbrage if you get called out on it. "When so many love you is it still the same?" "It's the woman in you that makes you want to play this game." It's cop out for infidelity.

She is not into you anymore. Find someone new.

I believe objectivism is a perfectly fine foundation for a monogamous, healthy, lifelong marriage. Traditional marriage (assuming you marry the right person for the right reasons!) is a rationally valid way to pursue your own happiness and your own success. Plenty of studies show that people who make marriage work are healthier, wealthier and happier.

Rand used her novels to reveal her ideals for living. Just as nearly all of us probably won't go and live in a real gulch, but rather will work to ensure our labours are not absorbed by parasites, most of us need not be in a position whereby we need to go from partner to partner.

As a lonely single woman, Dagne had every right to occasionally (or rarely) seek out companionship with like minded individuals. She is certainly not a slut or a bedhopper, as years went by between trysts. Again, the ideal is to find one true love, and never stray. The reality is that most are still seeking, lonely, and wondering if they ever will find that one person...

I found that quite interesting myself. Personally the other item that made me laugh was Dagny and her ability to be so brilliant, great in bed and then could fly a plane. He character became a little over the top!

As for the the men's reactions, Francisco had years to come to terms with what happened and much of it was due to him deciding to go on strike (and years later he still slapped Rearden over it). Rearden, on the other hand, is largely absent in part three. We only see his reaction through a letter, so we don't know what he goes through personally. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the purpose of Atlas Shrugged is not to tell the story of heartbreak and romantic loss, so Rand did not focus on it.

First, context must be taken into account. Dagny was with Francisco when she was a teenager. She was with Rearden much later (her 30s). Likewise, a long period of time (years?) passes between when she was with Rearden and when she was with Galt. If anything, Rand's weakness here is not making the timeline of the novel clear.

My only thought on this is to wonder why it is that you find it "incredibly wrongheaded"?