Ragnar Danneskjöld

Aliases: "the pirate"; "the Norse"; "Captain Danneskjöld"; the world press calls him a monster.

Role

Norwegian-born former philosophy student, third great student of Akston / Stadler at Patrick Henry University with Galt and Francisco. The strikers' man at sea: Ragnar attacks only the looter governments' relief ships and treasure cargoes, seizes the gold, and uses it to open restitution accounts for the producers the State has milked. Husband of the actress Kay Ludlow.

Personality / energy

Calm, gentle, courteous, lethal. The most dangerous man in the world handled with the manners of a scholar. A man whose work is violence and whose disposition is tenderness. Speaks softly with a faint Scandinavian accent.

Physical description

Very tall (~6'4"), broad-shouldered, the build of a sailor and a swordsman. Pale Nordic-blond hair worn long enough to brush his collar. Pale-blue eyes. A face Rand calls "of carved ice" — high cheekbones, strong jaw, fine clean features. "Not a face that anyone could remember as easily described — it was the face of a man who could not be hated." Late thirties. Tanned from open ocean.

Outfit

• Pennsylvania back-road meeting with Rearden (Ch. 18): long dark sailor's coat over a black turtleneck and rough dark trousers; high boots; no hat; no visible weapon
• At sea / on his ship (off-page): captain's clothes; a single rifle at the mast
• In the valley: plain dark shirt, dark trousers, weathered boots
• Storming the Institute (Ch. 29): dark long coat, rifle slung

Visual motifs

• A heavy gold ingot with a small dollar-sign mark stamped on the face
• A long sailor's coat against pine
• A rifle held with the casual familiarity of a tool
• A Norwegian flag inverted on a stern (his ship's joke)
• A ship's silhouette at night against a foreign harbor

Power signature

Not applicable. His "signature" is a stamped gold ingot and a long dark coat against pine.

Chapter appearances

• Off-page presence: 12 (sinking d'Anconia ships)
• On-page: 18, 21, 22, 29, 30.

Source references

• Wikipedia — Atlas Shrugged: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlas_Shrugged
• SparkNotes — Atlas Shrugged character list: https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/atlasshrugged/characters/

Confidence

High — Ragnar's physical signature ("face of carved ice," pale blond, Norse, sailor's coat) is well documented.