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The Fountainhead
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Character Analysis
Howard Roark
Roark is the novel’s protagonist, and he represents Rand’s ideal man: a fiercely independent individual who pursues his own goals and maintains his own integrity despite the many pressures of society to conform. His stylized appearance is designed to match his exceptional personality; he is physically strong and sports red hair that sets him strikingly apart from his peers. He perfectly embodies all the virtues promoted in the novel and in Rand’s later writings on objectivism.
A genius architect of the Modernist school, Roark devotes himself to his chosen field with the fervor and dedication of a religious zealot. His buildings represent physical manifestations of his (and Rand’s) abstract ideals and are described as being simultaneously innovative, functional, and evocative. His vocation allows Rand to examine the theme of Architecture as a Mirror for Society and the Individual, and the struggles he faces illustrate The Conflict Between Innovative Genius and Society. He is targeted by Toohey and his ilk as an enemy of humanitarianism precisely because his innovation and skills set him above the majority of his peers.
He is described as “innocent” and “immortal” because he is untouched by the fear or corruption of an imperfect world, and he remains unchangingly himself without ceding to external influences. The most controversial element of his character is his sexuality. He shares a loving relationship with Dominique, but one that is founded on sexual violence. Within the context of Rand’s objectivist philosophy, Roark’s rape of Dominique is presented as a legitimate expression of sexual passion and masculine desire rather than an unforgivable and immoral act.
Roark is entirely independent; he seeks neither support nor praise from his fellow humans and never attempts to impose his power or will on others (as understood by objectivist philosophy). Through Roark’s professed beliefs and the example of his actions, Rand explores the theme of Individualism and the Importance of Independence. Roark’s ultimate success in the final chapters of The Fountainhead vindicates his prior struggles and self-imposed hardships and functions as an argument in favor of the objectivist philosophy that he is meant to personify. Although he remains fully independent, he nonetheless forms firm friendships with all the like-minded men he encounters. His own sense of self-worth and ability to think rationally and form his own judgments allow him to value others based on their inherent qualities, rather than on the basis of their reputations or appearances. The bonds he forms with characters like Wynand, Mallory, Cameron, and Mike are therefore some of the strongest relationships exhibited in the novel. This dynamic undercuts the criticism leveled at Roark by other characters in the novel, who misguidedly claim that he is inhuman and incapable of warmth or connection. Roark’s friendships and connections are also designed as a refutation of Rand’s real-world critics, who often denigrate egotists as selfish and uncaring.
Dominique Francon
Dominique is the only major female character in The Fountainhead. She functions as a love interest to the protagonist Roark, and like him, she is an egotist who embodies the virtues espoused by Rand’s objectivist philosophy. She represents Rand’s conception of ideal femininity and is described as being delicate, skilled, charming, and intelligent, and she is elegant to the point of seeming otherworldly. Dominique’s character undergoes drastic development throughout the course of the novel as she gradually learns to let go of her fear of society and accept Roark’s convictions as her own. By the novel’s end, Rand demonstrates that Dominique is Roark’s spiritual and intellectual equal, and their combined philosophical triumph is emphasized when they stand together atop the Wynand Building as husband and wife, literally and figuratively elevated above the society that tried to oppress their embodiment as the idealized archetypes of man and woman.
At the beginning of the novel, Dominique is disillusioned with the world and deliberately seeks out a life of suffering and meaninglessness for fear of encountering something valuable that will nonetheless fail to live up to her standards of perfection or that is tainted by exposure to an imperfect world. These destructive and avoidant tendencies are exemplified in her attacks on Roark during the Stoddard Temple scandal and her marriage to Peter Keating, as they both represent her ongoing attempts to subsume her own ego and sense of self entirely. Far from marking her as a villain like Ellsworth Toohey, this compulsion on her part is a manifestation of her desire to exist in a world of absolutes; denied the possibility of absolute fulfillment, she instead seeks forms of absolute self-denigration. Through her marriage to Wynand, she finally overcomes her fear of society’s influences and learns to value herself independently of others; at this point, she is finally capable of loving Roark with the necessary selfishness to be with him fully.
In The Conflict Between Innovative Genius and Society, she initially takes the side of society and is thereby aligned with the novel’s antagonist, Toohey. In this, she functions as a stand-in for readers whose views do not align with Rand’s; as a result, the events that unfold to push Dominique toward Roark’s way of thinking provide a roadmap for such a reader’s conversion to objectivist beliefs. As Dominique shares in Roark’s triumph and gains freedom from the constraints of society, her philosophical victory is itself an argument in favor of Rand’s theme of Individualism and the Importance of Independence.
Peter Keating
Keating is the eponymous character of the novel’s first part, and he serves as an important—if imperfect—foil to the protagonist Roark. Whereas Roark is the ideal individualist and genius by Rand’s objectivist standards, Keating is the ideal man according to the warped standards of the “second-handers” whom Rand believes to make up the bulk of society. Keating is handsome, charming, and accomplished, but he is also Machiavellian in his methods to advance his career and reputation in the eyes of others, and rather than being true to himself, he is disloyal to those who don’t serve his purpose. All of Keating’s choices are governed by external opinions and the pressures of society. His clear moral inferiority to Roark highlights the latter’s virtue and supports the superiority of the objectivist hero.
Keating is also incapable of creating independently, and he filches historical styles and accepts Roark’s help on technical design in order to produce anything. Keating’s buildings therefore stand as a reflection of the stagnant society in which they were constructed, illustrating the theme of Architecture as a Mirror for Society and the Individual.
Despite his flaws, Keating is ultimately presented as a sympathetic character, as rather than being intrinsically villainous like Ellsworth Toohey, he is instead a victim of his upbringing and society. He finds little lasting happiness in his professional successes or his social status, and he discards his one true source of happiness when he jilts Catherine in favor of Dominique. By the novel’s end, his career is all but over, and his mind is broken by his reliance on Toohey’s corrosive brand of support. This fate illustrates the consequences of living a life that forsakes the ego and is entirely dependent on others.
Ellsworth Toohey
Toohey is the novel’s antagonist, and he represents the antithesis of everything that Roark stands for. Toohey is an exaggerated amalgamation of the socialists and humanitarians that Rand observed among her contemporaries in academic and political circles. Unlike more sympathetic characters, such as Keating, who genuinely believe in the doctrines of altruism and collectivist ideologies, Toohey cynically preaches these doctrines in order to further his own nefarious ends.
He is the most self-aware and intentional of all Rand’s fictional villains and is shown to work actively and knowingly to bring about the downfall of society and the destruction of advanced civilization. He seeks power over other people and preaches a doctrine of self-denial and altruism that aims to destroy any individual sense of self in his followers. Only those who are capable of independent rational thought are unaffected by his poison, a dynamic that emphasizes the value of Individualism and the Importance of Independence. A true “second-hander,” he is incapable of any acts of creation of his own, and he glories in warping the minds and works of others to his purposes.
Gail Wynand
Wynand functions as a direct foil to Howard Roark. Although he is capable of reaching the same heights of independence and integrity as Roark, he falters and destroys himself by failing to break free of the clutches of public opinion. Initially, Wyand is implied to be a villain, as his Banner tabloid represents the worst vices of the collectivist society it serves, and Cameron’s final words express hatred for what Wynand represents. However, Part 3 of the novel shows that the actual character of Wynand is distinct from his role as the owner of the Wynand papers. He is revealed to be sympathetic and likeable, and he holds values and a temperament that are compatible with Roark and Dominique’s outlook on life. A lifetime of powerlessness and disillusionment has led him to dedicate his creative efforts to a product that is unworthy of his talents. For this reason, he has essentially sacrificed his soul in exchange for material success and power over others. His tragic inability to symbolically relinquish his dependence on others by standing with Roark at the risk of closing The Banner ultimately leads to his downfall.
Although Rand draws parallels between Dominique’s desire to destroy Roark and Wynand’s dedication to corrupting individuals with integrity, there is a fundamental difference in their motivations. Wynand seeks to exercise power over others for his own gratification and quasi-sexual pleasure, whereas Dominique is motivated by fear and a circuitously expressed desire to protect that integrity by destroying it. This fundamental difference between the two characters who most ardently love Roark proves to be the deciding factor differentiating them and their fates. Dominique was incorrect in her initial conclusions, but her method of moving through the world as a rational individual is ultimately vindicated, whereas Wynand’s quest for power over others inevitably proves to be incompatible with an independent life.
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