The Embodiment of Ayn Rand’s Objectivist Ideal in The Fountainhead"

The Fountainhead’s protagonist, Howard Roark, is a character depicting the ideal example of Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism. Roark is Rand’s creation of human perfection according to Objectivism philosophy through which she wanted to propagate and convey her philosophy through its manifestation of Roark’s character. Rand puts forth a metaphysical philosophy that “*reality exists as an objective absolute – facts are facts, regardless of man’s feelings, wishes, hopes, or fears” (Introducing Objectivism).

Feelings and faith have no place in the role of perception in gaining knowledge – and the human’s spirit or soul resides in his possession of free will (Rand, Essentials of Objectivism). Perhaps most important to this essay are Rand’s ethical beliefs. Objectivism adheres strictly to the path of rational self-interest that it is to the benefit of every human to seek his own pursuits alone.

Roark’s sociability is limited to a few very close friendships with those who are like him. Roark develops close friendships with his various clients and coworkers, like Gail Wynand, Henry Cameron, and Mike Donnigan, who aspire to be like him. Additionally, Roark has a rather complicated romantic relationship with a woman named Dominique Francon. Roark certainly derives pleasure in being with Dominique, but this is preceded by his agreement with her beliefs and virtues.

When Cameron retires, Roark has enough money to start his own firm. In each of these settings, Roark exhibits absolute devotion and integrity in all his work. Even when Roark is forced to close his firm due to a lack of business, he works at a granite quarry and finds pleasure in the back-breaking work of that job. He loves the feeling of being totally and completely exhausted after a long day’s work spent drilling in the quarry. Wherever he is, Roark works nights, weekends, holidays, whatever it takes to get the job done and done well. During one design project, Rand describes Roark’s creative process as such: “His fingertips were pressed to the paper as if the paper had held them, as a surface charged with electricity will hold the flesh of a man who has brushed against it, hold and hurt” (p. 103).

Roark has a very intimate connection with each of the buildings he creates. He sees them as extensions of himself. His work is his life. As mentioned, he dropped out of school for refusing to conform to his teachers' artistic styles. His tendency to disregard the styles of his age gets him fired from various drafting jobs and causes his firm to lose a great deal of business. In an extreme case, when his plans for a certain housing project are altered, he blows up the building. It is not so much that Roark is acting rebelliously against society's values as he is acting devotedly for his own values. At one point, a committee that commissioned Roark to design their new office building disagreed with Roark’s plans for its façade. They request a more Classical entrance style in contrast to Roark’s personal design. In his defence, Roark gives an explanation as to why the Classical style would not work and how it would go against the “honesty,” “integrity,” and “faith” of the building (196).

Within the trait of conscientiousness, we can also observe Roark as being extremely high in the facet of deliberation. While the circumstances of his life are often out of his control, such as the place of his vocation and the success of his firm, he thinks through every step as it comes. Nowhere in the novel does he commit an action out of a whim. In fact, his architectural critics charge him with disregarding “the human element of emotion” in favor of his dedication to “cold logic” (p. 196). deliberation clearly evokes Objectivism’s value of rational judgment as the human’s primary means of understanding. Even while Roark’s principles might be extreme, Rand wants to demonstrate that what he does is in fact the most reasonable path of human existence.

To demonstrate, Roark describes his own architecture as such: “A building is alive, like a man. Its integrity is to follow its own truth, its one single theme, and to serve its own single purpose. A man doesn’t borrow pieces of his body. A building doesn’t borrow hunks of its soul. Its maker gives it the soul and every wall, window and stairway to express it” (p. 24)
both Roark and Rand are convinced that Roark’s talent and genius as an architect necessitate that he always knows better than his clients as to what they really need and want. Constructive criticism is not a concept of his world. And so, Roark adheres strictly to the creative style of his own originality. Roark simply will not allow himself to be taught by the outside world because such would be a transgression of his own integrity.

In her preliminary notes for the novel, Rand writes, “My purpose, first cause and prime mover is the portrayal of Howard Roark… as an end in himself – not as a means to any further end” (Ayn Rand Institute).

In accordance with the ethics of Objectivism, Rand wishes to demonstrate Roark’s true virtue in selfishness that has nothing to do with altruistic tendencies. Roark seeks only those things which fulfil him as an “end in himself.”

Rand expresses that there do exist certain situations in which one feels compelled to assist another in some way that one does not acquire direct personal benefit. However, even in these situations, a person does derive some personal pleasure from the mere existence of another’s virtues. And so, according to Rand’s view, Roark’s act of helping Cameron is only payment for his previously received pleasure. Yet, from the standpoint of the trait theorist, a simple assessment of altruism would seem much more likely. Thus, regarding the motive behind Roark’s behavior, we see a tension between the trait theorist, who would attest to some selflessness and the Objectivist, who would ardently defend selfishness.

Before Roark blows up the housing project, he has Dominique lead the security guard away from the complex, ensuring the man’s safety. Therefore, we see that even in this extreme act, Roark was not seeking any harm to others but to preserve the integrity of his idea by destroying it. Even when Roark is provoked, his stoic personality keeps him from reacting against others.

Yet, at one chance encounter, when Toohey and Roark meet, he asks Roark what he thinks of him. Roark simply replies, “But I don’t think of you” (p. 389). Clearly, Roark has no desire to harm others within his pursuits, nor does he even give any attention to those who seek his own harm. By demonstrating Roark’s lack of antisocial dispositions, Rand exhibits Objectivism’s principle of pursuing one’s good while allowing others to do the same.

In the last moments of the novel, Roark goes through the process of his trial, representing a stressful experience for the average person. He is arrested by policemen, stays in prison for a few days, and must deliver his own speech in his defence. Yet, in the midst of these circumstances, he remains impervious to all negative affect, making him very low in neuroticism (extremely low N). Roark succeeds in persuading the jury to sentence him not guilty and goes off free to pursue his career without downward pressure from society. In her notes on Roark’s character, Rand writes, “He [Roark] does not suffer because he does not believe in suffering. Defeat or disappointment is merely a part of the battle. Nothing can really touch him” (p. 698). In describing Roark as a figure of perfection according to Objectivism, she demonstrates how his rationality wins out over his emotions.

However, while Roark’s character matches the values of Objectivism, a further question should be asked as to whether Roark’s personality matches reality. Roark’s personality seems to defy some of these tendencies. Within the trait of extroversion, he is extremely low in the facet of warmth and gregariousness yet extremely high in the facets of positive emotions and assertiveness. Within the trait of agreeableness, he is extremely low in the facets of altruism and tender-mindedness but very high in the facet of modesty. Because of such large dichotomies within the given traits, trait theorists might find him an unlikely candidate. While this may be true, Ayn Rand might concur with these theorists in saying that such human excellence is indeed quite rare. As the embodiment of her philosophy of Objectivism, Howard Roark represented all that the human can and should be. Necessarily, such a high moral and intellectual standard should make him much less likely to occur. Yet, for Rand this made him no less noble and idea to be aspired to among all men and women.

Reference List

Essentials of Objectivism. The Ayn Rand Institute. General Format. Retrieved from http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=objectivism_essentials

Rand, A. (1993). The Fountainhead. New York, NY: New American Library.

Rand, A. Introducing Objectivism. The Ayn Rand Institute. General Format. Retrieved from http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=objectivism_intro