Anthem (novella)

Anthem

Company type	Novella
Industry	Literature
Founded	1937
Founder	Ayn Rand
Headquarters	United Kingdom, United States
Products	Dystopian fiction novella

Anthem is a dystopian fiction novella authored by Russian–American writer Ayn Rand, composed in 1937 and initially released in 1938 in the United Kingdom. The narrative unfolds in a future era characterized by a Dark Age, where individual identity is suppressed and technological advancement is strictly regulated. The plot centers on Equality 7-2521, a young man who secretly engages in scientific experimentation. Upon discovery, he escapes into the wilderness alongside Liberty 5-3000, a woman he loves, with the intention of establishing a new society grounded in individualism.

Rand first envisioned the story as a theatrical play before submitting it for magazine publication and subsequently as a book. The novella debuted through Cassell in England and was later revised for its 1946 American edition, which followed Rand's acclaim from The Fountainhead.

Plot

The story is narrated by Equality 7-2521, a 21-year-old male living within a collectivist society that eradicates personal identity. Raised in communal dwellings and assigned his occupation by the Council of Vocations, he is designated as a Street Sweeper despite possessing an innate talent for science. Secretly, he conducts experiments within an underground tunnel, utilizing pilfered materials to compose his journal by candlelight.

While performing his duties near the city, Equality 7-2521 encounters Liberty 5-3000, a Peasant woman whom he affectionately names "The Golden One." Their mutual love defies societal conventions that arrange mates solely for reproductive purposes. Persisting with his research, Equality 7-2521 rediscovers electricity through an ancient glass device that emits light when electrified. He aspires to present this invention to the World Council of Scholars to gain recognition.

His unauthorized activities lead to punishment and imprisonment. After escaping with ease, he attempts to share his discovery but faces rejection; the Council intends to suppress his invention to preserve their control. Seizing the electric light, he flees into the forbidden Uncharted Forest.

In exile, Equality 7-2521 embraces liberty but yearns for Liberty 5-3000, who soon joins him. Together they inhabit an abandoned house from a bygone era and rediscover the concept of individual selfhood through old books. Equality 7-2521 adopts the name "Prometheus," while Liberty 5-3000 takes the name "Gaea." With Gaea expecting a child, Prometheus envisions a future where humanity reclaims personal freedom and individuality.

Development

Ayn Rand initially conceived Anthem as a play during her youth in Soviet Russia. After emigrating to America, she revisited the concept following exposure to a speculative fiction piece published in The Saturday Evening Post. She completed Anthem in the summer of 1937 while temporarily pausing work on her subsequent novel, The Fountainhead.

Her original working title was Ego, reflecting her philosophical emphasis on reason, values, volition, and individualism. Finding it overly explicit and revealing, she changed it to Anthem, presenting the novella as an ode to human ego intended for readers' discovery.

Anthem exhibits significant parallels with Yevgeny Zamyatin's 1921 novel We, including:

• Use of a secret diary narrative.
• Characters identified by numeric codes instead of names.
• State-controlled upbringing separating children from their parents.
• Suppression of individuality in favor of collective will.
• A male protagonist awakening to individuality through interaction with a female character.
• A forest symbolizing freedom beyond the dystopian city limits.
• Rediscovery of a lost era of liberty via an underground passage.

Contrasts exist regarding technological depiction: We features advanced technologies such as X-rays and airplanes, whereas Anthem portrays regressive beliefs including flat Earth theory and rudimentary medicine. Despite these similarities suggesting possible influence, there is scant evidence that Rand had read or was inspired by Zamyatin’s work; she never mentioned it when discussing her Russian background.

Publication history

Rand originally intended to release Anthem as a magazine story or serial installment, but her literary agent advised publishing it as a standalone book. She submitted the manuscript concurrently to Macmillan Publishers in the United States and Cassell in the United Kingdom, both of which had previously published her novel We the Living. While Cassell accepted the work, Macmillan rejected it, reportedly claiming that Rand lacked an understanding of socialism. Another American publisher also declined to publish it, and efforts to market it as a magazine serial were unsuccessful. Ultimately, Cassell issued the book in England in 1938.

After the success of The Fountainhead, a revised edition was published in the U.S. in 1946 by Pamphleteers, Inc., a small libertarian press owned by Rand’s associates Leonard Read and William C. Mullendore. The 50th Anniversary Edition appeared in 1995, featuring an appendix containing Rand’s handwritten editorial annotations from the original Cassell version.

Since its 1946 revision, Anthem has sold more than 3.5 million copies.

Critical response

The initial UK publication received predominantly favorable critiques, highlighting Rand’s imaginative vision and promotion of individualism. Dilys Powell, writing for The Sunday Times, remarked on its "simplicity and sincerity." Anti-communist journalist Malcolm Muggeridge provided a mixed assessment in The Daily Telegraph, commending its appeal but expressing skepticism about the plausibility of its dystopian setting. Maurice Richardson of The Observer found the narrative "highly unconvincing" despite its articulate prose.

When the first American hardcover edition appeared in 1953, genre critics Anthony Boucher and J. Francis McComas responded with sarcasm, decrying what Rand suggested was a conspiracy obstructing its U.S. release. That same year, Caxton Press issued this first U.S. edition, while the pulp magazine Famous Fantastic Mysteries featured reprints of both Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" and Anthem in its final June 1953 issue.

Awards and nominations

In 1987, the Libertarian Futurist Society honored Anthem with its Hall of Fame Award. Later, in 2014, the novel received a nomination for a Retrospective Hugo Award recognizing "Best Novella."

Adaptations

Following Anthem's release in the United States, Rand sought to adapt it into various formats including film, opera, and ballet; however, none came to fruition. In 1946, she expressed interest to Walt Disney in producing a stylized animated film version.

A radio adaptation aired in 1950 on The Freedom Story, a broadcast by the Christian libertarian organization Spiritual Mobilization. More recently, ABN issued an unabridged audiobook narrated by Jason McCoy in 2011.

In 1991, Michael Paxton wrote and directed a theatrical adaptation staged in Hollywood. Jeff Britting, curator of the Ayn Rand Archives, later adapted it into a play performed Off-Broadway at the Jerome Robbins Theater in 2013; critics noted its dense exposition. A parody rock musical inspired by Anthem debuted Off-Broadway in 2014 featuring Randy Jones from The Village People; while reviews were mixed, its energetic presentation was praised.

Anthem has been adapted into graphic novels twice: initially in 2011 by Charles Santino with artwork by Joe Staton, and again in 2018 by Jennifer Grossman and Dan Parsons.

Influence

The novel has inspired multiple musical creations including full-length albums. Enzo Stuarti recounted that Pat Boone wrote lyrics and Frank Lovejoy contributed the "Prelude to this next offering" for "The Exodus Song," which appeared on Stuarti’s album Stuarti Arrives at Carnegie Hall. This song contains lines reminiscent of Anthem, such as: "...I guard my treasures: my thought, my will, my land, and my freedom. And the greatest of these is freedom." A memo from 1964 acknowledged this unauthorized usage though no legal proceedings followed.

Robert Silverberg’s 1971 novel A Time of Changes depicts a society where using the word I is prohibited; its protagonist rebels against this restriction. Although Silverberg read Anthem back in 1953, he only realized parallels years later and emphasized significant differences between his work and Rand’s.

Neil Peart of Rush credited Anthem as an influence on their song "2112," noting similarities in narrative structure and themes. While Peart did not consciously reference Rand’s story during composition, he acknowledged her impact in liner notes. Rush also released a track titled "Anthem" on their album Fly by Night, and their Canadian record label Anthem Records was co-founded by their manager Ray Danniels.

Among Ayn Rand’s writings, Anthem is commonly assigned within secondary education curricula. The Ayn Rand Institute distributes complimentary copies to schools and organizes an annual essay contest centered on the novel.

See also

• Linguistic relativity
• We (1982 film)
• We (novel)

External links

• Anthem available at Project Gutenberg
• 1953 edition images hosted by HathiTrust
• Anthem guide from CliffsNotes
• LibriVox audiobook: Anthem