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.
(See Important Quotations Explained)
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.
