The Fountainhead Part II: Chapters 6–10 Summary & Analysis

Summary: Chapter 6

With the money from the Enright commission, Roark reopens his office. He agrees to go to a cocktail party with Austen Heller when Heller mentions that Dominique will attend. When Roark enters, the party’s hostess tries to talk to him, but finds him insolent. Heller introduces Roark to Dominique. She engages him in a polite conversation, and neither of them mentions their previous encounter. Dominique feels that Roark is testing her. Toohey spends the evening watching Roark carefully.

Summary: Chapter 7

Dominique’s next column attacks the Enright House, but Toohey accuses her of actually subtly praising Roark. One of Roark’s potential clients, Joel Sutton, grows anxious and asks Dominique if he should hire Roark. She tells him that Roark will create a beautiful building for him, but Sutton wants something safe. Dominique recommends Keating. That night, Dominique visits Roark. She coldly states that she wants him, but that she hates him because her desire for him is so strong. She promises to do everything in her power to destroy him because she needs to test his strength. Roark understands her need and admires her.

Summary: Chapter 8

When they lay in bed together it was—as it had to be . . . an act of violence. It was surrender, made the more complete by the force of their resistance.
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Over the next few months, Dominique earns four commissions for Keating. Toohey visits her and proposes an alliance against Roark. She agrees. Dominique and Roark visit each other often, always at night. Dominique revels in Roark’s strength and in her inability to resist him. By day, Dominique devotes her energies to destroying Roark. Roger Enright, furious with Dominique, takes her to see the unfinished Enright House. Standing within the building’s frame makes Dominique euphoric. She writes an article saying no one should be allowed to live in the building. Enright is bewildered by this hidden praise of Roark. Keating cannot decipher Dominique’s actions. Everyone in New York thinks that Dominique is in love with Keating, but in private she refuses to talk to him.

Summary: Chapter 9

When Toohey was a child, he hated anyone distinctive. He tried to destroy the unique and disguised his cruelty behind words of humility. To Toohey’s surprise, people believed him, and he soon had a following. At Harvard, Toohey was especially popular among wealthy heirs. As an adult, he began preaching submitting oneself to the needs of others. Upon coming to New York, he became a vocational adviser. He rarely counseled students to follow their dreams, encouraging them to pursue undesirable careers instead. Toohey then started publishing and became a celebrity.

Summary: Chapter 10

In June of 1929, the Enright House opens. Roark receives more commissions. He signs a contract with a man named Anthony Cord to build a fifty-story skyscraper in Manhattan, his first office building. A man named Kent Lansing approaches Roark. Lansing wants Roark to design a luxurious hotel for Lansing’s corporation. After weeks of vicious debating, Lansing wins over the rest of the corporation’s board and they select Roark to build the Aquitania Hotel.

Hopton Stoddard, one of Toohey’s dependents, wants to build a temple to religion. Toohey sees an opportunity and tells Stoddard to hire Roark. Toohey coaches Stoddard to give a speech that will win over Roark. Although Stoddard’s appearance and manner disgust Roark, Stoddard’s arguments impress him. Stoddard says he wants to build a temple to the human spirit and wants Roark to infuse it with his own soul. Roark thinks perhaps he does not understand people as well as he thought he did and agrees to design the temple.

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