This essay won one of the three Second Prize in the all India The Fountainhead Essay Contest 1999.
The essential difference between the heroes and the villains in the novel is that, as opposed to the villains, the heroes possess self-esteem; because of this, they retain their individuality, and do not degenerate into inconspicuousness in the sea of humanity. They place themselves above everyone and everything else, and achieving their own personal happiness with rationality as their guide is the sole purpose of their lives. The villains, on the other hand, live by the ideas of altruism and collectivism. They undermine the importance of the individual as opposed to the majority. They possess no sense of self-worth, and are reduced to a condition in which, in the words of Roark, "they have no self." Ayn Rand thus rejects the claim that it is honourable to live for others or for society.
Howard Roark, the hero of the novel, is the embodiment of objective principles. He lives in his 'pinnacle of loneliness' with his own happiness as his only motivation. Neither does he sacrifice himself for others, nor does he sacrifice others to himself, but works for his rational self-interest. Roark reveres his ego, and refuses to be broken down by those who want him to compromise on his integrity. He believes that the motivation to think comes from the ego, as the mind is an attribute to the individual -- there can be no 'collective thought'. Therefore, every creator or achiever is a person who lives for himself. His relations with other men are secondary. Roark is a very talented architect who truly loves his work, but he does not desire popularity or commercialism, as that would make him dependent on what others thought of hitn. He is a very individualistic person, an egoist in the absolute sense; he stands above the need of using others in any manner. He believes that personal independence and initiative determine his talent as a worker and his worth as a man. He refuses to conform to a society, which has been conditioned to mock talent and achievement, and adheres to his principles throughout. Roark proves that unrelenting conviction in oneself does ultimately lead to self-satisfaction. This is especially significant to Henry Cameron and Steven Mallory, who are extremely talented individuals who have been broken in spirit by the callousness of the world. The compliment that Peter Keating pays him sums up his personality: "You are the most egotistical and the kindest man 1 know."
Dominique Francon evolves into a heroine with the help of Roark, the man she loves passionately. She fervently admires his talent and everything he stands for, but she feels that it is heinous to waste it on a world that is not worthy of such greatness. She is truly fascinated by one of Roark's buildings, and she writes the following about it in her column in The Banner: "Our structures are meaningless and false; this building makes it more so. By creating the contrast it will have made itself a part of the great ineptitude."
She first tries to ruin Roark, as she cannot bear to witness him struggling against things and men, which do not deserve to be his opponents. Roark teaches her not to be afraid of the world, not to be affected by it. By learning to hold her own self-interest above all else, Dominique becomes immune to the power that other people exerted on her earlier. She stops hating the world and no longer notices the baseness of most people around her. The ultimate happiness of the heroes of the novel goes to prove the triumph of Objectivism.
The entire novel is divided into three sections, each section named after the three principal villains -- namely, Peter Keating, Ellsworth M.Toohey and Gail Wynand. Roark calls them 'second-handers', because in their craving for prestige and power, they function through other people. They sacrifice; their individuality and self-esteem.
Peter Keating does not possess any admirable talent for architecture, and is aware of this fact even though he manages to conceal it from most other people. He admires Roark rather grudgingly, and sometimes even expresses an inclination to be like him, but this is quickly over-ruled by his desire 'to belong'. His desire is greatness in other people's eyes, not true greatness within himself; he thus surrenders his ego and his self-esteem. Since other people are his prime concern, he can be said to be a 'selfless' man. He manages to deceive others that he is content, but after a while, the facade slips. He ends up broken and discontent, unhappy both professionally and in his personal life.
Elisworth Toohey is the most despicable villain
in the novel, because unlike Keating and some others, who are ignorant
about their faulty ways of living, Toohey is completely aware about the
evils of altruism. He is very intelligent and wily and has no disillusions
about being virtuous, though he manages to deceive most people into believing
that he is a 'humanitarian'. He is totally unscrupulous, and has neither
self-respect, nor respect for anyone else. He seeks to enshrine mediocrity
so that he will be powerful by comparison, even though he knows that desire
for power is a second-hander's dream, as one can be established as powerful
only with the help of other people. Toohey thus seeks to destroy the conception
of greatness, as greatness would lead to individualism, and then independence.
This is why he sets out to destroy Roark, who has unshakeable conviction
in himself and whose sole objective is to achieve perfection, irrespective
of other people's opinions. Toohey believes that happy men are free, so
he preaches that personal desire is an evil and ties happiness with guilt
by preaching unselfishness. He says to Keating:
"I am the most selfless man you have ever known.
I use people for the sake of what I can do to them.... I desire power."
Gail Wynand is perhaps the most likeable villain in the book. Circumstances early in his life erased his faith in humanity, and he sought power as a solace. He is the owner of the newspaper The Banner, which he himself detests even though it is popular among the masses. But by doing something which he dislikes, he is always discontent and has no self-respect. Wynand once says that he is the epitomy of selflessness, as he has erased his ego out of existence. He admits that he gave the world his soul in exchange for luxury. He wants power over the 'collective soul', which he achieves through The Banner. On introspection, he realises that by doing this, he just added himself to the things the mob ran. Wynand admires Roark, who manages to retain his individuality against the rest of the world.
The heroes of The Fountainhead possess self-esteem while the villains lack it. In Howard Roark's words: "If one doesn't respect oneself, one can have neither love nor respect for others."
Copyright 1999. Liberty Institute, New Delhi
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