Part 2: Summary
After struggling to find clients for his architecture, Howard Roark concludes to closing down his firm and finds work for himself at the Francon granite quarry. He enjoys the straining hard work, the pleasure of walking from the little town of workers to the quarry, and the sensation of soaking in the tub after each strenuous day; he smiles at his own agony. A few miles away from the burning rocks is the gorgeous Francon Estate. Desiring to escape the everyday troubles of life, Dominique Francon has decided to inhabit the abode for the summer. Upon her visit, she decides to meander to her father’s granite quarry. It is no coincidence when Roark and Dominique’s eyes meet that they immediately loath each other, yet, only doing so in the effort to hide their true feelings. Even with their constant fight to resist one another, they become weak and one evening, become very intimate.
Back in the business of things, Peter Keating is climbing up the ladder of success. He has just received a draft including a dedication to Keating from the famous Ellsworth Toohey, an exclusive writer for the New York newspaper titled the Banner. However, their plans to meet later that day are interrupted by the attempted murder of Toohey by the great sculptor, Mr. Stephen Mallory. However, Keating’s first reaction to the incident is whether the article about him will still be published. Toohey has escaped unharmed by the ordeal, and attends to his scheduled meeting with Keating, acting as if nothing had happened. He addresses Keating about joining a group of young architects and becoming chairperson of the faction; he enthusiastically accepts the honor.
Their next meeting involves tea, and Peter Keating’s inconsistent fiancée, Miss Catherine Halsey. As Catherine blends in like a wallflower, Toohey insistently interrogates Keating about the unmentionable Howard Roark. During this time, Toohey also prepares a commission for Keating; Lois Cook, a very deep thinker and writer, has decided to create the ugliest house ever, and Keating indifferently accepts.
In the meantime, Dominique has begun to adapt back into the turbulent life of New York, and the even more rambunctious life of working for the Banner. One day, while working upon some mundane article, Mr. Toohey visits her. Off to the side, he notices a sketch of Roark’s Enright House. She tells him that a masterpiece such as that should never be erected, for it is worth more than what people would make it to be. She even makes it blunt to him that such abusers would be a man like him and his Council of American Builders, who happened to recently have their first meeting. Dominique makes an uninvited appearance at the meeting and witnesses the members’ deprecation of the state of modern architecture and their failure to produce a solution to what they make to be a problem. After the meeting, Keating seeks to kiss Dominique, having had a great attraction to her, but his actions disgust her. He somehow can tell that she loves another man, and she admits to meeting a worker during her vacation.
Achieving outstanding success and money from his Enright project, Roark has the opportunity to open his business, beginning with the Heller house. He and Mr. Heller celebrate at a cocktail party, and on happenstance, he bumps into Dominique. However, he refuses to acknowledge her, and she refuses to spare herself from the pain of this treatment.
Acting upon what she had once told Toohey, Dominique begins attacking Roark and his success with the Enright house, hoping that if she can destroy it, maybe she will be able to protect it. Toohey sees past her act, though, knowing that she actually admires Roark and his works of art. Joel Sutton come to Dominique about Roark, in fact, and asks Dominique if he should hire Roark to create his building. She replies, telling him of how wonderful and unique it would be, but he becomes skeptical, wanting to please the people not himself; she then suggests Keating for the job. In the cold of the night, Dominique visits Roark and explains to him her reasoning; that was to save him; he admires her determination and accepts the challenge. For the next couple of months, Dominique earns four commissions for Keating in the process of destroying Roark. She does this by continuing her reports on Roark’s Enright house through the Banner, persuading the people against Roark and in favor of Keating.
Ayn Rand then introduces Toohey’s past in order to explain his philosophy of life. He begins with his childhood, a sad period of his life when he hated anyone who portrayed ideas of individualism. He would verbally abuse those who expressed uniqueness. He was a leader in this way, and many followed his example. When he grew up, he still had followers, people who were attracted to his selfless acts and gracious deeds. He encouraged others to be as giving as he was. He saw no need to preach about people following their dreams; he merely encouraged them to focus on their detrimental careers instead. This was what made him famous.
In 1929, Roark’s Enright House opens up for the public to see. The house was considered a “freak”. Soon after, Howard is approached many times for building projects, but declines them. Something about each project leads him to reject working and creating the wanted buildings. A man, Anthony Cord,p offers a 50 story skyscraper in Manhattan and Roark decides to take the job.
At his office, Roark is described as one who never smiles at his employees. His presence and demeanor already tell his employees what he wants. Some think his expectations are ridiculous. Howard rarely becomes friends with his workers.
Dominique and Roark continue their affair. During this time, Kent Lasing offers Howard a project-the Aquitania Hotel. Behind his back, Dominique is still talking with Toohey about their individual plans to destroy Roark. Dominique plans to destroy him to protect him, but Toohey’s plans are different. He plans to completely destroy his reputation and stop him from furthering his career. They privately have a conversation on why they want to stop him from continuing on the project. Toohey takes initiative to stop Howard when coming across Hopton Stoddard, who is looking for the right architect to build him a temple. Knowing that Roark is not religious, Toohey highly recommends Howard and tells Hopton that when he finally speaks to Roark, that he needs to make Roark openly admit that he isn’t religious. Naturally Howard does but Kent says that there is a certain spirit in the way he designs his projects. Toohey knew giving this advice to Kent would win him over.
In chapter eleven, Keating becomes depressed. His guilt over the Cosmo-Slotnick building becomes worse as the construction comes to an end. He isn’t happy and Toohey explains that he needs to snap out of it, it’s normal to feel the way he does.
The story continues as Roark works on the temple. He decides that he wants a great statue to lie in the middle, and calls up Steven Mallory. At first, Mallory thinks this offer is a joke, but becomes emotionally astonished. He couldn’t fathom the fact that Roark actually thought his work was worthy after the attempted shooting of Toohey. Eventually the two grow close and enjoy each other’s company. Mallory asks Roark who he wants as the model, and he simply says Dominique Francon. Steven said she wouldn’t do it, especially for him, Roark knows he is wrong. Toohey soon hears the news that Dominique actually agrees to pose for the statue. He tells her she shouldn’t do it and tells her it’s becoming apparent as to why she agreed to it in the first place.
Later on one evening, Steven is with Dominique working on the sculpture. Roark had never come to see them work together, but he did on this night. Steven was becoming frustrated with the sculpture because something was off. He told her to take a break. She threw her robe on as Roark walked in and started to talk to Steven, immediately she got up and suggested a pose to impress him. She throws her arms and head back, and stood open to the two of them. Roark understood what had happened, but this is the first hint to Steven that there is something more to the two of them than meets the eye.
Soon the Stoddard Temple opens. The public and Kent become infuriated when they see that the temple doesn’t even come close to living up to the expectation put upon it. The press furthers the issue and exploits the story. Hopton although getting tons of sympathy, decides to take the manner to court.
Toohey and Dominique have another conversation as to the careful plans to ruin Roark. He tells her he doesn’t care if people don’t remember the buildings by Howard. He just wants to make sure there is a general image of Roark as a bad designer; he wants him to have a bad name. The temple met little to him compared to his overall goal.
During court, Peter Keating was called to the stand and questioned. He answers truthfully, making it seem that Howard was incompetent of decent design. He tells the court that he tried to help him and that he wouldn’t listen. He involuntarily pulls down Roark as a person. Dominique Francon was also called to the stand. During her time to talk, she was interrupted numerous times for being off subject but eventually got to the point that she agreed that Stoddard had a right to sue, but everything Roark did was following his philosophy. He followed design orders, but the way the employer and the designer thought were completely different. One followed a religious aspect while the other followed a human path. She believes that the building should be destroyed, and Stoddard should win the case. Behind her words she subtly left a message regarding the fact that these men are not worthy of his creation. Toohey was the only one who understood this. Stoddard won the case. The next day, although unadvised, Dominique posts her testimony in the papers.
As Peter Keating becomes more and more involved with the drama of the story, Katie is left in the dust. She has been involved in social work the entire time and becomes extremely unhappy with it. She begins to hate the people she helps. She explain this to her uncle, but the whole conversation becomes an argument. The same night Keating shows up and asks why they haven’t gotten married yet, and they both agree the next morning to be wed. He appeared set on this idea.
That night when Peter left Catherine’s house, Dominique approached him. Taken by surprise, Dominique asks him to marry her. He agrees to her offer. They drive off that night and become Mr. and Mrs. Keating. . They did not stay together after the ceremony; he simply dropped her off at her house. The moment he leaves, she walks through the city all the way to Roark’s house and sleeps with him. She also admits she loves him for the first time. She would rather suffer this way based on her philosophies that men don’t deserve the greatness that Roark is. It’s her way to protect him from her. She will live for him through the marriage. He admits his love for her too.
During chapter 15, Peter locks himself in his room because he told his mother what he had done. The next morning, Dominique shows up. Peter’s mother knows she is going to hate her daughter-in-law. As night time comes around Dominique says “Let’s get this over with”. Toohey comes for dinner as well in the same time frame and calls Dominique out for what she is doing. In a brief moment of privacy, he claims she has been in love with Roark since the moment she laid eyes on him. They continue to argue until Keating returns back into the room.
The Stoddard temple, because of the money gained from the court case, was converted to a children’s home for inmates. After hearing this news, and hearing about its rebuilding, Howard decides to visit it. When he arrives, he runs into Toohey. Toohey begins to mock him, and the only thing Roark says in response is that he never thinks of him.
Back in the business of things, Peter Keating is climbing up the ladder of success. He has just received a draft including a dedication to Keating from the famous Ellsworth Toohey, an exclusive writer for the New York newspaper titled the Banner. However, their plans to meet later that day are interrupted by the attempted murder of Toohey by the great sculptor, Mr. Stephen Mallory. However, Keating’s first reaction to the incident is whether the article about him will still be published. Toohey has escaped unharmed by the ordeal, and attends to his scheduled meeting with Keating, acting as if nothing had happened. He addresses Keating about joining a group of young architects and becoming chairperson of the faction; he enthusiastically accepts the honor.
Their next meeting involves tea, and Peter Keating’s inconsistent fiancée, Miss Catherine Halsey. As Catherine blends in like a wallflower, Toohey insistently interrogates Keating about the unmentionable Howard Roark. During this time, Toohey also prepares a commission for Keating; Lois Cook, a very deep thinker and writer, has decided to create the ugliest house ever, and Keating indifferently accepts.
In the meantime, Dominique has begun to adapt back into the turbulent life of New York, and the even more rambunctious life of working for the Banner. One day, while working upon some mundane article, Mr. Toohey visits her. Off to the side, he notices a sketch of Roark’s Enright House. She tells him that a masterpiece such as that should never be erected, for it is worth more than what people would make it to be. She even makes it blunt to him that such abusers would be a man like him and his Council of American Builders, who happened to recently have their first meeting. Dominique makes an uninvited appearance at the meeting and witnesses the members’ deprecation of the state of modern architecture and their failure to produce a solution to what they make to be a problem. After the meeting, Keating seeks to kiss Dominique, having had a great attraction to her, but his actions disgust her. He somehow can tell that she loves another man, and she admits to meeting a worker during her vacation.
Achieving outstanding success and money from his Enright project, Roark has the opportunity to open his business, beginning with the Heller house. He and Mr. Heller celebrate at a cocktail party, and on happenstance, he bumps into Dominique. However, he refuses to acknowledge her, and she refuses to spare herself from the pain of this treatment.
Acting upon what she had once told Toohey, Dominique begins attacking Roark and his success with the Enright house, hoping that if she can destroy it, maybe she will be able to protect it. Toohey sees past her act, though, knowing that she actually admires Roark and his works of art. Joel Sutton come to Dominique about Roark, in fact, and asks Dominique if he should hire Roark to create his building. She replies, telling him of how wonderful and unique it would be, but he becomes skeptical, wanting to please the people not himself; she then suggests Keating for the job. In the cold of the night, Dominique visits Roark and explains to him her reasoning; that was to save him; he admires her determination and accepts the challenge. For the next couple of months, Dominique earns four commissions for Keating in the process of destroying Roark. She does this by continuing her reports on Roark’s Enright house through the Banner, persuading the people against Roark and in favor of Keating.
Ayn Rand then introduces Toohey’s past in order to explain his philosophy of life. He begins with his childhood, a sad period of his life when he hated anyone who portrayed ideas of individualism. He would verbally abuse those who expressed uniqueness. He was a leader in this way, and many followed his example. When he grew up, he still had followers, people who were attracted to his selfless acts and gracious deeds. He encouraged others to be as giving as he was. He saw no need to preach about people following their dreams; he merely encouraged them to focus on their detrimental careers instead. This was what made him famous.
In 1929, Roark’s Enright House opens up for the public to see. The house was considered a “freak”. Soon after, Howard is approached many times for building projects, but declines them. Something about each project leads him to reject working and creating the wanted buildings. A man, Anthony Cord,p offers a 50 story skyscraper in Manhattan and Roark decides to take the job.
At his office, Roark is described as one who never smiles at his employees. His presence and demeanor already tell his employees what he wants. Some think his expectations are ridiculous. Howard rarely becomes friends with his workers.
Dominique and Roark continue their affair. During this time, Kent Lasing offers Howard a project-the Aquitania Hotel. Behind his back, Dominique is still talking with Toohey about their individual plans to destroy Roark. Dominique plans to destroy him to protect him, but Toohey’s plans are different. He plans to completely destroy his reputation and stop him from furthering his career. They privately have a conversation on why they want to stop him from continuing on the project. Toohey takes initiative to stop Howard when coming across Hopton Stoddard, who is looking for the right architect to build him a temple. Knowing that Roark is not religious, Toohey highly recommends Howard and tells Hopton that when he finally speaks to Roark, that he needs to make Roark openly admit that he isn’t religious. Naturally Howard does but Kent says that there is a certain spirit in the way he designs his projects. Toohey knew giving this advice to Kent would win him over.
In chapter eleven, Keating becomes depressed. His guilt over the Cosmo-Slotnick building becomes worse as the construction comes to an end. He isn’t happy and Toohey explains that he needs to snap out of it, it’s normal to feel the way he does.
The story continues as Roark works on the temple. He decides that he wants a great statue to lie in the middle, and calls up Steven Mallory. At first, Mallory thinks this offer is a joke, but becomes emotionally astonished. He couldn’t fathom the fact that Roark actually thought his work was worthy after the attempted shooting of Toohey. Eventually the two grow close and enjoy each other’s company. Mallory asks Roark who he wants as the model, and he simply says Dominique Francon. Steven said she wouldn’t do it, especially for him, Roark knows he is wrong. Toohey soon hears the news that Dominique actually agrees to pose for the statue. He tells her she shouldn’t do it and tells her it’s becoming apparent as to why she agreed to it in the first place.
Later on one evening, Steven is with Dominique working on the sculpture. Roark had never come to see them work together, but he did on this night. Steven was becoming frustrated with the sculpture because something was off. He told her to take a break. She threw her robe on as Roark walked in and started to talk to Steven, immediately she got up and suggested a pose to impress him. She throws her arms and head back, and stood open to the two of them. Roark understood what had happened, but this is the first hint to Steven that there is something more to the two of them than meets the eye.
Soon the Stoddard Temple opens. The public and Kent become infuriated when they see that the temple doesn’t even come close to living up to the expectation put upon it. The press furthers the issue and exploits the story. Hopton although getting tons of sympathy, decides to take the manner to court.
Toohey and Dominique have another conversation as to the careful plans to ruin Roark. He tells her he doesn’t care if people don’t remember the buildings by Howard. He just wants to make sure there is a general image of Roark as a bad designer; he wants him to have a bad name. The temple met little to him compared to his overall goal.
During court, Peter Keating was called to the stand and questioned. He answers truthfully, making it seem that Howard was incompetent of decent design. He tells the court that he tried to help him and that he wouldn’t listen. He involuntarily pulls down Roark as a person. Dominique Francon was also called to the stand. During her time to talk, she was interrupted numerous times for being off subject but eventually got to the point that she agreed that Stoddard had a right to sue, but everything Roark did was following his philosophy. He followed design orders, but the way the employer and the designer thought were completely different. One followed a religious aspect while the other followed a human path. She believes that the building should be destroyed, and Stoddard should win the case. Behind her words she subtly left a message regarding the fact that these men are not worthy of his creation. Toohey was the only one who understood this. Stoddard won the case. The next day, although unadvised, Dominique posts her testimony in the papers.
As Peter Keating becomes more and more involved with the drama of the story, Katie is left in the dust. She has been involved in social work the entire time and becomes extremely unhappy with it. She begins to hate the people she helps. She explain this to her uncle, but the whole conversation becomes an argument. The same night Keating shows up and asks why they haven’t gotten married yet, and they both agree the next morning to be wed. He appeared set on this idea.
That night when Peter left Catherine’s house, Dominique approached him. Taken by surprise, Dominique asks him to marry her. He agrees to her offer. They drive off that night and become Mr. and Mrs. Keating. . They did not stay together after the ceremony; he simply dropped her off at her house. The moment he leaves, she walks through the city all the way to Roark’s house and sleeps with him. She also admits she loves him for the first time. She would rather suffer this way based on her philosophies that men don’t deserve the greatness that Roark is. It’s her way to protect him from her. She will live for him through the marriage. He admits his love for her too.
During chapter 15, Peter locks himself in his room because he told his mother what he had done. The next morning, Dominique shows up. Peter’s mother knows she is going to hate her daughter-in-law. As night time comes around Dominique says “Let’s get this over with”. Toohey comes for dinner as well in the same time frame and calls Dominique out for what she is doing. In a brief moment of privacy, he claims she has been in love with Roark since the moment she laid eyes on him. They continue to argue until Keating returns back into the room.
The Stoddard temple, because of the money gained from the court case, was converted to a children’s home for inmates. After hearing this news, and hearing about its rebuilding, Howard decides to visit it. When he arrives, he runs into Toohey. Toohey begins to mock him, and the only thing Roark says in response is that he never thinks of him.