Source (novel)

In 1928, on behalf of film director and producer Cecil Blount DeMille, Ayn Rand began working on a screenplay for the original story of Dudley Murphy. Murphy's story was about two workers building a skyscraper in New York and in love with one woman. At Rand, the workers turned into architects, one of whom, Howard Kane, was a dedicated idealist, erecting a skyscraper, despite all the obstacles. At the end of the film, Kane celebrated the victory, standing on the roof of the constructed building. However, Cecile de Mill rejected Rand's script. The film “Skyscraper” ( English Skyscraper ), 1928 , was shot according to a script based on the idea of ​​Murphy, but Rand later used some elements of his version in the “Source” ^[2] .

Starting to work on a novel whose plot and characters were related to an unfamiliar professional field, Rand read many books on architecture and biographies of architects ^[3] , and also worked as a typist for free at the bureau of architect Ely Jacques Kahn [ English ^4] .

Work on the novel was constantly interrupted. In 1937, Rand wrote the novel “The Anthem” ( Eng. Anthem ), in 1940 she finished adaptation of her novel “ We the Living ” for the theater and took an active part in politics as a volunteer of the Wendell Wilkie presidential campaign ^{[5 ]} . When the money received as fees for previous work ran out, she began to work as a freelance reviewer, evaluating and selecting scenarios for film studios. As a result, when Rand finally found a publisher, the novel was only one-third ready. ^[6]

Although Ayn Rand’s works have already been published previously, finding a publisher for The Source was not easy. Macmillan Publishing, which published “We Are Alive,” refused the “Source” due to the fact that the author insisted on more active advertising of the new novel ^[7] . The agent of the writer began to offer the book to other publishers. In 1938, Knopf signed a book agreement, but by October 1940, only a fourth of the text was ready for Rand, and the publisher terminated the agreement. ^[8] Several other publishers rejected the book, Agent Rand began to criticize the novel, was fired, and Rand began to search for the publisher on her own ^[9] .

Rand was helped by screenwriter Richard Miland, her boss at Paramount Pictures . He brought Rand with his friends in the publishing industry, in particular at the Bobbs-Merrill Company. Editor Archibald Ogden, who recently started working at Bobbs-Merrill, liked the novel. However, the opinions of the two full-time reviewers diverged. One believed that this was a great book that could not be sold, the other believed that it was waste paper, but would sell well. Ogden's boss, president of the publishing house, D.L. Chambers, decided to reject the book. Ogden wrote back to the head office: “If this is a book that’s not suitable for you, then I’m the wrong editor for you.” Ogden's persistence led to the fact that in December 1941 a contract with Ayn Rand was signed. Twelve other Source publishers rejected ^[10] .

The Source was published in May 1943 . At first, the book sold poorly, but thanks to popular rumor it ended up on the bestseller list ^[11] . In August 1945, two years after its publication, the novel took the sixth line of the New York Times bestseller list ^[12] .

In 1971, in honor of the 25th anniversary of the first publication of the novel, the anniversary edition of The Source was published with the new introduction by Ayn Rand (New American Library). In the 1993 anniversary edition (50th anniversary), Bobbs-Merrill added an afterword from the follower and heir of Ayn Rand to the American philosopher Leonard Peikoff. By 2008, 6.5 million copies in English were sold ^[13] . The novel was translated into other languages, including Russian, Chinese, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, French, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Turkish, etc. ^[14]

Highlights

• Howard Roarke is the protagonist of the novel, a talented and ambitious architect. Roark is convinced that the creator is an egoist in the absolute sense, and collectivism is the law of a parasite, a second-rate person. “ The measure of abilities is different, but the basic principle is the same: the measure of a person’s independence, initiative and dedication to his work determines his talent as a worker and value as a person. Independence is the only criterion for its significance and dignity. What a man is and what he puts himself in, and not what he did or did not do for others. There is no substitute for personal dignity, and there is no other scale for its evaluation, except independence ” ^[15] . He never compromises his principles and, despite all the difficulties, wins in the finale of the novel. One of the prototypes of Howard Roark is the American architect-innovator Frank Lloyd Wright ( born Frank Lloyd Wright ) ^[16] .

• Peter Keating is an ambitious architect, fellow student of Roarke. A gifted person, he wastes his abilities, trying to cater to the tastes of customers. Depends on the opinions of others: Father Dominic Francon, the architectural establishment , his mother, even Roarke, whom he often turns to for professional help. Unlike Roarke, he builds his life and career on the basis of compromises. In the final, he is defeated: “ He did not want to be great, if only others would consider him great. He did not want to build - he wanted to be admired as a builder. He borrowed from others to impress others. Here is his self-denial. He betrayed his Self ” ^[17] .

• Dominic Francon is the main female character in The Source. Haughty beautiful and smart blonde. The daughter of Guy Francon, a successful architect. At the beginning of the novel, she works as a journalist in The Banner, leading a column on interior design, and she is fired for speaking at the first trial of Howard Roark. He loves Roark, but marries first Peter Keating, then Gail Vinand. In the finale of the novel, he becomes the wife of Howard Roarke and, finally, finds happiness.

• Gail Vinand is a wealthy and influential man, among other things, owns the newspaper "Banner", which employs Dominic Francon and Ellsworth Tuchey. Rose from the bottom. He has much in common with Howard Roark, but his success depends on his ability to cater to public opinion, which ultimately leads Vinanda to collapse. In the diaries, Ayn Rand described Vinand as a “person who could be” a heroic individualist, contrasting him with Roarke, who is one ^[18] .

• Ellsworth Moncton Touhi is a critic and journalist who leads a popular column on construction and architecture in The Banner. The antagonist of Howard Roark, Touhi is a supporter of collectivism: " Only when you can be disgusted with your own priceless little self will you find a truly complete peace of altruism ." In Roarke's individualism, he sees a great threat. It affects the life of all the main characters of the novel, in particular, struggling with Roarke. Dominic Francon gives Touhi the following characterization: “The Perfect Bastard ” ^[19]

Minor

• Henry Cameron - architect, teacher of Roarke and his first employer; prototype - architect Louis Sullivan .
• Katherine Halesy is Keating's bride and niece of Tukha.
• Guy Francon is Dominic's father, Keating's employer and his business partner. Head of the architectural firm Francon & Heyer and subsequently Francon & Keating.
• Lucius Heyer is an architect who, together with Guy Francon, manages the architectural firm Francon and Heyer. Subsequently, Peter Keating's unconscious manipulation, Heyer brought to death.
• Stephen Mallory - a talented sculptor who has lost faith in his own abilities, is trying to kill Tukha, under the influence of Roarke regains confidence and creates a statue for the temple of Stoddart.
• Alva Scarret is the chief editor of the newspaper Vinanda. One of the oldest employees of the Banner.
• John Eric Snight is Roarke's employer who used teamwork to create the final project.
• Austin Heller is an individualist thinker who hired Roarke and became one of his loyal allies.
• Lois Cook is a young writer, head of the Union of American Writers. Author of the books “Savannahs and Savannahs” and “Valiant Stone in the Bladder”. He is an adherent of the views of Ellswart M. Touhi, which he expresses in his literature.
• Ralston Holcomb is president of the American Guild of Architects (AHA). He does not accept the views of his colleagues and considers the only architectural style of the Renaissance. In his opinion, since the Renaissance, there was no style that could surpass this one.

The novel begins with the fact that in the spring of 1922, student architect Howard Roark was expelled from the Stanton Institute of Technology for refusing to adhere to traditions and generally accepted methods in the design of buildings. He goes to New York and joins the bureau of Henry Cameron, a famous architect in the past, whose admiration Roarke admires and whose reluctance to follow the tastes of the public has cost him his career.

Roork's classmate and friend Peter Keating successfully graduates from the institute, also arrives in New York and takes a job at the prestigious architectural firm of Frankon and Heyer. Keating’s career has been successfully developed thanks to his ability to flatter, cater and satisfy clients, who in turn seek to impress the public. As for the embodiment of ideas, Keating has to turn to Roark for help.

Roarke’s career is not easy: after the close of Henry Cameron’s bureau, he works in several companies (including Keating). As a result, due to the reluctance to compromise and give up his ideas, following the wishes of the customers, Howard Roark gets a job as a masons in a granite quarry . Here he accidentally meets Dominic - the beautiful, temperamental daughter of the owner of the quarry guy Guy Francon. Mutual attraction arises, but the relationship is not easy to develop - like a clash of two strong characters, resulting in a rough sexual act. Soon after this event, Roarke returned to New York to work for a new client, leaving Dominic, who did not recognize her lover's name.

Ellsworth Touhi, an influential author of the popular architecture column in the New York newspaper Znamya, decides to destroy Howard Roark through a slanderous campaign. He convinces businessman Hopton Stoddard to instruct Roark to build the temple of the human spirit. Having received complete creative freedom, Roark creates an unusual building, one of the elements of which was a naked female marble figure (Dominic Francon posed as a model for the sculptor). The temple was never opened, and Tukhi convinced the customer to sue Roark, accusing him of incompetence and fraud. At the process, well-known architects (including Keating) testified that Roarke’s style was not generally accepted and illegal. Dominic defends Roarke, but he loses the case and again loses his business.

Realizing after the trial that he cannot live, torn between the existing world and Roarke, Dominic makes an offer to Keating, and they quickly get married. Dominic devotes himself to the affairs of her husband, for the sake of whose career, in particular, he agrees to sleep with Gail Vinand, the owner and editor-in-chief of The Banner. Vinand falls in love with Dominic and proposes to her. They are getting married. Keating as a compensation goes to a large order, the execution of which he transfers to his colleagues. At the same time, Roarke, despite all the difficulties, continues to attract a small but stable stream of customers who are able to appreciate his work.

Vinand discovers that all the buildings that he likes are designed by Howard Roark. He instructs Roarke to build a house for himself and Dominic. The house is built, and Roarke and Vinand become close friends. Vinand is unaware that he binds Roark and his wife.

Keating wants to receive a new profitable order - the state housing project Cortland. It turned out that it is very difficult to find an architect, since the project involves the construction of houses with the lowest possible rents and should become the standard for the whole country. Realizing that he can not cope with this task on his own, Keating turns to Howard Roark. He agrees - he is interested in the project as a professional. Roarke takes on the project, requiring neither payment nor fame. Its condition is anonymity and the ability, as usual, to realize the plan without change - the buildings must be built exactly according to his design.

Having developed the project, Roark goes on a trip. Upon returning, he discovers that the arrangement has been violated. Roark goes to decisive measures: asks Dominic to distract the night watchman and blows up the constructed building. Dominic goes to hospital, and Roark goes to court. Vinand in his newspaper advocates Roarke. He has problems and needs to make a decision: close the newspaper or accept the demands of the union. Vinand surrenders and publishes an article blaming Roark. In court, Roark speaks about the value of the ego and the need to remain true to yourself. Jury Verdict: "Innocent." Roarke will marry Dominic. Vinand closes the Banner and asks Roark to design a skyscraper for him: “Raise it as a monument to the spiritual power that you have ... and which I could have.” Final: Dominic, now Mrs. Roark, and Howard Roark meet on the roof of this building.

Individualism

Ayn Rand noted that the main theme of the “Source” is “the opposition of individualism to collectivism not in politics, but in the human soul” ^[20] . In the book, the author avoids a direct discussion of political issues. The exception is scenes in court where Roark defends the American concept of individual rights . As the historian James Baker noted, “there is hardly any mention of politics or economics in the Source except for the fact that it appeared in the 1930s. There is no mention of events taking place in the world, although the novel was created during the Second World War . This work is about a specific person who opposes the system, and other issues should not interfere with the disclosure of this topic ” ^[21] .

Architecture

Ayn Rand has dedicated The Source to her husband, Frank O'Connor, and architecture. Architecture was chosen for consonance with Rand's ideas, especially in the context of the rise of modern architecture. Architecture allowed the author to illustrate her views - the belief that the personal is of the highest value, serves as the "source" of creative energy, and that egoism, understood as rational egoism , is a virtue.

Howard Roark and Peter Keating are diametrically opposed. Keating's style is historical eclecticism and neoclassicism , even if he is building a skyscraper . Keating honors traditions and follows them.

Roarke glorifies modern architecture as uncompromising and heroic. It is widely believed that the prototype of Roarke was the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright , both Rand and Wright denied ^[22] . However, Bruce Goff , a well-known American architect and friend of Wright, claimed in his book Goff on Goff that Wright served as a prototype of Roarke, despite the many differences between them. So, some descriptions of the buildings built by Roark resemble Wright's houses. A vivid example: “Heller’s House”, the first house designed by Roarke, resembles Edgar Kaufmann’s famous villa, “House over a Waterfall,” built by Wright (Connelsville, PA , 1936-1937).

Rand was a fan of Wright and asked him to design the scenery for the film, which was based on the novel. However, the architect appreciated his services too expensive - the studio could not afford it. Rand also commissioned Wright to create a summer home project for her (not built). Wright, in turn, wrote Rand a letter in which he praised the affair, and Rand and her husband later visited Wright’s residence “Taliesin” at the invitation of the architect ^[23] .

Many architects called the novel a source of inspiration. Fred Stitt , founder of the San Francisco Institute of Architecture, dedicated the book to his “first teacher of architecture, Howard Roarke.” ^[24] Nader Vossoughian wrote that ““ The Source ”... has shaped the public perception of the profession of an architect as much as possible than any other work in the last half century” ^[25] . Julius Shulman ( Eng. Julius Shulman ), a famous American photographer of architecture, noted that it was Rand’s novel "first drew the attention of society to architecture" ^[26] .

First American Edition

• Ayn Rand The fountainhead - USA: Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1943. - 753 p. - ISBN 0451191153 .

Editions in Russian

• Ayn Rand A source. In two books = The Fountainhead. - SPb. : Association of businessmen of St. Petersburg , 1995. - 960 p. - ISBN 0-451-15512-3 .
• Ayn Rand A source. In two books = The Fountainhead. - SPb. : Neva prospect , 2006 .-- 880 p. - ISBN 5-7198-0131-6 .
• Ayn Rand Source = The Fountainhead. - M .: Alpina Publisher , 2009. - 880 p. - ISBN 978-5-9614-0834-8 .
• Ayn Rand Source (set of 2 books) = The Fountainhead. - M .: “Alpina Publisher” , 2011. - 808 p. - ISBN 978-5-9614-1521-6 .
• Ayn Rand Source = The Fountainhead. - M .: Alpina Publisher , 2012. - 800 p. - ISBN 978-5-9614-1748-7 .
• Ayn Rand Source = The Fountainhead. - 5th ed. - M .: Alpina Publisher , 2016. - 800 p. - ISBN 978-5-9614-5365-2 .

• Individualism
• Critical thinking

• Burns Jennifer. Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right. - New York: Oxford University Press, 2009 .-- ISBN 978-0-19-532487-7 .
• Barbara Branden. The Passion of Ayn Rand. - New York: Doubleday & Company, 1986. - ISBN 0-385-19171-5 .
• Mimi Reisel Gladstein The New Ayn Rand Companion. - Westport: Greenwood Press, 1999. - ISBN 0-313-30321-5 .
• Baker, James T. Ayn Rand. - Boston, Massachusetts: Twayne Publishers, 1987 .-- ISBN 0-8057-7497-1 .
• Britting, Jeff. Ayn Rand - New York: Overlook Duckworth, 2004 .-- ISBN 1-58567-406-0 .
• Den Uyl, Douglas J. The Fountainhead: An American Novel. - New York: Twayne Publishers, 1999 .-- ISBN 0-8057-7932-9 .
• Gladstein, Mimi Reisel. Ayn Rand - New York: Continuum, 2009 .-- ISBN 978-0-8264-4513-1 .
• Feminist Interpretations of Ayn Rand. - University Park, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1999 .-- ISBN 0-271-01830-5 .
• Gotthelf, Allan. On ayn rand - Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing, 2000 .-- ISBN 0-534-57625-7 .
• Heller, Anne C. Ayn Rand and the World She Made. - New York: Doubleday, 2009 .-- ISBN 978-0-385-51399-9 .
• Hicks, Stephen RC . Egoism in Nietzsche and Rand (English) // The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies : journal. - 2009 .-- Spring ( vol. 10 , no. 2 ). - P. 249-291 .
• Johnson, Donald Leslie. The Fountainheads: Wright, Rand, the FBI and Hollywood. - Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2005 .-- ISBN 0-7864-1958-X .
• Mayhew, Robert. Essays on Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead. - Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books, 2006 .-- ISBN 0-7391-1577-4 .
• Merrill, Ronald E. The Ideas of Ayn Rand. - La Salle, Illinois: Open Court Publishing, 1991 .-- ISBN 0-8126-9157-1 .
• Pruette, Lorine . Battle Against Evil , The New York Times (May 16, 1943), S. BR7. Reprinted in Books of the Century. - New York: Times Books, 1998. - P. 135-136. - ISBN 0-8129-2965-9 .
• Rand, Ayn. Letters of Ayn Rand. - New York: Dutton, 1995 .-- ISBN 0-525-93946-6 .
• Rand, Ayn. Journals of Ayn Rand. - New York: Dutton, 1997 .-- ISBN 0-525-94370-6 .
• Sciabarra, Chris Matthew. The Illustrated Rand (Eng.) // The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies : journal. - 2004 .-- Fall ( vol. 6 , no. 1 ). - P. 1-20 .
• Eyman, Scott. Empire of Dreams: The Epic Life of Cecil B. DeMille. - New York: Simon & Schuster, 2010 .-- P. 252. - ISBN 978-0-7432-8955-9 .