Mr. and Mrs. Taggart, Nathaniel "Nat" Taggart - Characters, Atlas Shrugged | Atlas Shrugged - Summary, Themes and Characters - Novels PDF Download

Mr. and Mrs. Taggart 

Both are dead before the book begins, and we get the sense that neither of them made all that much of an impact on the lives of their children. Mr. Taggart seems aware that his son is a fool and that his daughter has a hard road ahead of her, but he doesn't do anything to help resolve the situation before he dies. Mrs. Taggart, more than anything else, seems hopelessly confused by her daughter. The Taggart parents are only mentioned twice in the whole book, in Chapters 1.3 and 1.5. Dagny's ancestor, Nat Taggart, is a more important influence on her life than her parents.

Nathaniel "Nat" Taggart

Dagny worships at the Church of Nat Taggart, and it's a religion with a bizarre messiah:

Many stories were whispered about him. It was said that in the wilderness of the Middle West, he murdered a state legislator who attempted to revoke a charter granted to him... but the charge could never be proved. (1.3.2.17)

This guy doesn't seem like a great role model. But Dagny sees him as more than some sort of legendary Old West figure; he represents hard work and achievement:

All that Dagny wanted of life was contained in the desire to hold her head as he did. (1.3.2.21)

Dagny wants to live the sort of bold and uncompromising life that Nat lived, and she finds inspiration in his struggles and his never-say-die attitude. She even communes with him during a meeting where the Board shuts down the John Galt Line she'd worked so hard to build:

"You had to bear it, too, generations ago – and it was just as hard for you, just as bad, but you did not let it stop you." (2.5.1.143)

Nat is a guiding presence in the book and ties in to the running themes of history, inspiring legends, and the importance of having people to look up to in life.