"The Fountainhead" is a book which Ayn Rand uses as a vehicle to express her philosophy. Her philosophy may be summed up as follows: A man should live for himself, rather than for others. The mind of a single man is the most powerful thing that we know of, and all great achievements and works of art throughout history have risen out of the mind of a single man. The virtue of altruism is a disease, a great evil of our world, which encourages mediocrity.
Ayn Rand is well known for her philosophy of "Rational Selfishness". At first glance, selfishness as an ethical code appears contradictory and absurd. One thing that is important to understand is that Rand doesn't use the word "selfish" in exactly the same way as everyday usage. For example, stealing isn't selfish behavior in her sense of the word. Rand would never approve of stealing. Stealing is taking something from someone else. A truly selfish man doesn't concern himself with others. He would never take or expect anything from them.
The book is divided into 4 major sections, each titled after the 4 main characters:
Part One: Peter Keating
Part Two: Ellsworth Toohey
Part Three: Gail Wynand
Part Four: Howard Roark
Peter Keating spends his life chasing success, but he does so by pleasing others. He gives up his early dream of becoming a painter to become an architect. He ends his life dejected and unfulfilled.
Ellsworth Toohey is a man that chases power by manipulating others. He encourages men to adopt the ideals of altruism, charity, and service. He tries to destroy all great men such as Roark by calling them selfish egotists.
Gail Wynand is a man that begins life as a poor man, but he climbs to the top of society on the strength of his own industriousness. He becomes the owner of a newspaper and media conglomerate. He is a man of great taste, but he "sells his soul" by giving people what they want in exchange for money and power.
Howard Roark is the hero of the story. He is a talented architect who thinks that Greek, Roman, Classical, or Gothic architecture were great - the first time they were done. He has no desire to produce replicas of them as all his peers do, and so he finds it very hard to find any work. Roark is the perfect man in Ayn Rand's eyes. He is a man of integrity who never compromises his ideals. He always lives for himself and never for others.
"The Fountainhead" is a good book and a great place to start for anyone interested in learning about Ayn Rand's work. Her most famous work is "Atlas Shrugged," which is much longer and is a further elaboration of her philosophies.
