The Fountainhead is one of those books that have stood the test of time. It has been regarded highly as a classic from the time of its publication in 1943. It has been read by the masses for over 5 decades and it has continuously been in the limelight, be it for controversies or for its critical acclaim. Fountainhead glorifies the concepts of individualism, self respect and egotism in its purest form. It denounces collectivism, the concept of altruism and selflessness.
Ayn Rand consummates the concept of egotism. You can find many instances while reading the book where egotism has been viewed as an ideal that truly propels creativity and ideal thinking. Self sufficient ego is what matters the most. If one doesn’t respect oneself, he can have neither love nor respect others. There are men who want to be great and there are those who want to be thought of as great. These men lead second hand lives. They live through the others. They are what the others think of them.
Beauty of the human body is in the wholesomeness. It hasn’t got a single muscle which doesn’t serve its purpose. Not a single line wasted. This beautifully explains the ideology of integrity. Though the backdrop of fountainhead is architecture, it claims that integrity is not the monopoly of artist but is the ability to stand by an idea which of course presupposes the ability to think. To think is again creating something that is your own rather than borrowing the ideas of someone else.
What is the one principle driving Howard Roark and his kind of people?
Honesty? Idealistic? Courage?
Roark possesses all those virtues hailed by the book such as individualism and egotism. His portrayal is what a man should be. The heroic in man was displayed through Roark. There are certain statements about Roark that I feel standout. "You are a profoundly religious man, in your own way". Religion, not in the usual meaning of worshipping at a temple but worshipping once own work is exhilarating. Austin Heller makes a comment on Roark where he tells him that he is too arrogant to boast. These are a little contrary to our general perception of the terms arrogance and Religion. I think that the beauty of fountainhead lies in the fact that it gives a whole new meaning to terms like self-respect, selflessness, altruism and egotism.
The heroic in man is not through the eyes of the beholder but through our own eyes. The true exaltation is when we can preserve our self respect and can look back upon a life of no regrets! The worst possible thing is not to kill a man’s self respect but to kill a man's pretense at it. In fact a quest for self respect itself is a proof of its lack. Man can survive only in 2 ways - By the independent work of his own mind or as a parasite fed by minds of others. The first kind constitutes men like Howard Roark whereas the second kind is the second hander. Even though many people think that wanting nothing for self, which is defined as selflessness, is a virtue, it is actually a sin.
The power and the dominance of Roark are made possible because of a character such as Ellsworth Toohey. Toohey’s technique to capture the soul of the human being and make him addicted to Toohey was brilliant. It was due to the power of this character that we understood the true strength of Roark. Roark loved his work and he was punished for it.
This book has the ability to nurture extreme feelings. One can either love it or detest it. I always felt that there was no other feeling that could exist. Detest considering the fact that such an ideal world is unimaginable and is "too Ideal" to exist. It creates a feeling of loathe to self if we try to emulate Roark and his principles. Mainly because it is not practical and "because things don’t happen that way".
The reason it can create absolute joy and a sense of elation is when we can experience the success of a martyr fighting for a dying cause over all those second-hand men trying to suppress greatness of any kind, no matter however insignificantly small the victory may be. We get a feeling that the victory is our own and the feeling persists!!
On a personal note, there aren’t many books that have given me a sense of pure exaltation and joy while reading and an air of despair as I have reached the end. We are scared to express something that is not common place. It is that independence and that courage what the book showcases. It is the hardest thing to do in the world -- to do what we want and it takes the greatest kind of courage. Love, charm, kindness and charity are all substitutes. Competence has no substitute.
