The Fountainhead Themes

The Fountainhead is an exploration of Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism. Rand described Objectivism as “the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.” The protagonist of the novel, Howard Roark, epitomizes the tenets of this philosophy. According to Rand, when a person focuses solely on his or her own happiness…

Howard Roark, the protagonist of The Fountainhead, is a talented architect with firm ideas on the form and design of buildings. While most people do not agree with his ideas or his general confident and independent manner of being, Roark never doubts himself and never compromises, even when faced with a multitude of challenges. Through him, Rand demonstrates the importance of one’s integrity. According to Rand, preserving one’s integrity can be very difficult…

Howard Roark and Dominique Francon feel an immediate connection when they meet because they both recognize and appreciate integrity. However, their relationship is initially flawed because Dominique is deeply affected by the world’s injustices toward Roark, and she must grow as a character to be less concerned about the world before they can be happy together. Whereas Rand holds up Roark and Dominique’s relationship as the ideal, the relationship between Peter Keating (a scheming architect…

Ayn Rand was an atheist and believed that religion was contrary to reason and rationality, which she held in the highest regard. In The Fountainhead, Howard Roark is an atheist, too, but he experiences moments of almost spiritual rapture at the idea of human beings reaching their full potential, as exemplified by the Stoddard Temple that he builds as a paean to the human spirit. Rand describes Objectivism as a philosophy that focuses on “the…