RAND AND HER ROARK: Idealism revisited!
“If a life can have a ‘theme song’ — and I believe that every worthwhile one has — mine is [best] expressed in one word: Individualism.”
“He stood naked at the edge of a cliff. The lake lay far below him. A frozen explosion of granite burst in flight to the sky over motionless water. The water seemed immovable, the stone flowing.” And thus starts one of the most profoundly influential classics of our times.
‘The Fountainhead’ was Russian-American Ayn Rand’s answer to the “Red Decade”, or the period of pro-communism that gripped America during the 1930s. To say she was the product of communism would not be a contradiction in terms. Her inspiration stemmed essentially from her fervent opposition to communist idealism. Her quest for an alternative led her to become a zealous campaigner for the merits of a capitalist society.
Born in St. Petersburg on February 2, 1905, she fell in love with her ideal fictional hero at age six. He had captured her imagination from the pages of a comic book, and remained her clandestine lover, and prototype, for all the men she created. The egoistic protagonist Howard Roark is no different from that ideal. 'The self-sufficient, self-confident, the end of ends, the reason unto himself, the joy of living personified.'
Rumour has it that Roark was a character loosely based on the real-life legend, Frank Lloyd Wright- the father of modern architecture. Funnily enough, when Rand and Wright did meet in real life, she was put off by his arrogance and ended up buying a house designed by architect Richard Neutra instead!
‘The Fountainhead’, published first in 1943 was initially a rather unsuccessful market name. But by 1945, it had reached best-seller status, mainly through word of mouth. Evolving continuously through the years, it became a modern classic, and more importantly, the Bible for architects and individualists the world over.
It definitely leads one to wonder what all the fuss is about. Her later book ‘Atlas Shrugged’ signified a more mature literary prowess. But it failed to reach the same scope of its predecessor in terms of sheer influence over generations of men and minds.
Howard Roark, the egoistic creator who fails to recognize any authority but his own will. Peter Keating, the typical parasite who wills to please. Ellsworth Toohey, the manipulator who claims victory by virtue of collectivism. Dominique Francon, the beautiful lover who struggles to defeat him. Along with a smattering of other characters, both dark and white, the classic story of the ultimate triumph of the human spirit against all odds unwinds slowly, and almost tantalizingly. Sounds like the perfect plot for a film? Hollywood producer Henry Blanke thought so too. And thus was born ‘Fountainhead- the movie’ with the discerning Gary Cooper in the title role, and Patricia Neal as Dominique Francon. Nothing much could go wrong with Rand and Cooper, could it? Warner Brothers had a hit on its hands; the film turned out to be a whooping success.
Rand writes with bitter passion, sometimes bitingly so. There are those who do question the validity of her arguments, and the level of pragmatism involved in a man like Roark. But the truth remains that he exists in everyone – “the self sufficient ego”. The subjectivity lies in how much one chooses to acknowledge him.
Her portrayal of a collectivist society, and one man’s struggle to rise above it is excessively passionate, and at times feels rather stretched. The plot itself loses momentum after the initial novelty wears off, and seems almost predictable. She harps way too much on the parasitic role of Keating, but she succeeds in creating antipathy towards him, which apparently was the aim of the book to begin with. The plot however does become engaging after it becomes apparent where Roark is headed.
The essence of the book lies in the mental parallels one tries to draw with Roark. Inspite of the fact that a reader will not able to relate to him completely, it definitely instills in him the yearning to attain the ideal. There have been innumerable instances of people choosing to become architects after reading the book. But the content and the spirit of it are not isolated to architecture and architects alone. The message is universal and timeless in its reach, and aims to appeal to the mind as opposed to the heart. And yet the characters in it are extremely passionate, driven by the strength of their convictions. That is the balance chord Rand has managed to strike so powerfully, and it leaves a reader stunned by its sheer implication.
‘The Fountainhead’, in a nutshell, is more than a work of fiction; it is a way of life and a huge philosophical overhaul. It leads one to reminisce, observe and question. The hand that touched the scepter may no longer rule the land, but the mind that thinks, still does.
“He stood naked at the edge of a cliff. The lake lay far below him. A frozen explosion of granite burst in flight to the sky over motionless water. The water seemed immovable, the stone flowing.” And thus starts one of the most profoundly influential classics of our times.
‘The Fountainhead’ was Russian-American Ayn Rand’s answer to the “Red Decade”, or the period of pro-communism that gripped America during the 1930s. To say she was the product of communism would not be a contradiction in terms. Her inspiration stemmed essentially from her fervent opposition to communist idealism. Her quest for an alternative led her to become a zealous campaigner for the merits of a capitalist society.
Born in St. Petersburg on February 2, 1905, she fell in love with her ideal fictional hero at age six. He had captured her imagination from the pages of a comic book, and remained her clandestine lover, and prototype, for all the men she created. The egoistic protagonist Howard Roark is no different from that ideal. 'The self-sufficient, self-confident, the end of ends, the reason unto himself, the joy of living personified.'
Rumour has it that Roark was a character loosely based on the real-life legend, Frank Lloyd Wright- the father of modern architecture. Funnily enough, when Rand and Wright did meet in real life, she was put off by his arrogance and ended up buying a house designed by architect Richard Neutra instead!
‘The Fountainhead’, published first in 1943 was initially a rather unsuccessful market name. But by 1945, it had reached best-seller status, mainly through word of mouth. Evolving continuously through the years, it became a modern classic, and more importantly, the Bible for architects and individualists the world over.
It definitely leads one to wonder what all the fuss is about. Her later book ‘Atlas Shrugged’ signified a more mature literary prowess. But it failed to reach the same scope of its predecessor in terms of sheer influence over generations of men and minds.
Howard Roark, the egoistic creator who fails to recognize any authority but his own will. Peter Keating, the typical parasite who wills to please. Ellsworth Toohey, the manipulator who claims victory by virtue of collectivism. Dominique Francon, the beautiful lover who struggles to defeat him. Along with a smattering of other characters, both dark and white, the classic story of the ultimate triumph of the human spirit against all odds unwinds slowly, and almost tantalizingly. Sounds like the perfect plot for a film? Hollywood producer Henry Blanke thought so too. And thus was born ‘Fountainhead- the movie’ with the discerning Gary Cooper in the title role, and Patricia Neal as Dominique Francon. Nothing much could go wrong with Rand and Cooper, could it? Warner Brothers had a hit on its hands; the film turned out to be a whooping success.
Rand writes with bitter passion, sometimes bitingly so. There are those who do question the validity of her arguments, and the level of pragmatism involved in a man like Roark. But the truth remains that he exists in everyone – “the self sufficient ego”. The subjectivity lies in how much one chooses to acknowledge him.
Her portrayal of a collectivist society, and one man’s struggle to rise above it is excessively passionate, and at times feels rather stretched. The plot itself loses momentum after the initial novelty wears off, and seems almost predictable. She harps way too much on the parasitic role of Keating, but she succeeds in creating antipathy towards him, which apparently was the aim of the book to begin with. The plot however does become engaging after it becomes apparent where Roark is headed.
The essence of the book lies in the mental parallels one tries to draw with Roark. Inspite of the fact that a reader will not able to relate to him completely, it definitely instills in him the yearning to attain the ideal. There have been innumerable instances of people choosing to become architects after reading the book. But the content and the spirit of it are not isolated to architecture and architects alone. The message is universal and timeless in its reach, and aims to appeal to the mind as opposed to the heart. And yet the characters in it are extremely passionate, driven by the strength of their convictions. That is the balance chord Rand has managed to strike so powerfully, and it leaves a reader stunned by its sheer implication.
‘The Fountainhead’, in a nutshell, is more than a work of fiction; it is a way of life and a huge philosophical overhaul. It leads one to reminisce, observe and question. The hand that touched the scepter may no longer rule the land, but the mind that thinks, still does.
posted by Farzana Kader at 10:30 AM
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