The Fountainhead Characters

Howard Roark: you either love him or you hate him. You either succumb to his enigmatic charms or you find him to be a sinister dirtbag. To call him polarizing is the understatement of the century....

There are a few professions that just scream "evil." Mad scientist, corrupt politician, creepy motel owner, art critic… wait, what? Art critic?The Job Makes the ManMeet Ellsworth Toohey, the...

Ice PrincessDominique sounds like she'd be totally comfortable on a blazing August afternoon: the words that describe her most often are "cold" and "icy." No, she's not Elsa from Frozen. No, she's...

If you've ever watched Mad Men you'll be familiar with a character named Pete Campbell, who is so utterly hate-worthy that his awfulness gets its very own listicle.What makes Pete Campbell so absol...

Like Marlon Brando in On The Waterfront, Gail Wynard could have been a contender. Wynard had so much potential, and he could've given Roark a run for his money in the hero department. But Wynand co...

Katie Halsey is one of the book's most fascinating characters. She's also (unlucky for us) one of the book's most elusive characters. This is a clever authorly trick on Rand's part: Halsey has the...

Guy Francon: powerhouse architect and businessman and pathetic old man. Seemingly contradictory, but totally true.Francon used to be pretty hardcore: his firm was the best in the city, and he was a...

Henry Cameron is an awesomesauce architect who is basically an older (and unluckier) version of Howard Roark. Cameron becomes Roark's mentor and helps him to kickstart his early career. But Cameron...

Poor Stephen Mallory got off to a very rocky start in this book. In fact, when we first meet him he's the would-be assassin of Ellsworth Toohey. Mallory wasn't a political malcontent though. Mallor...

Austen Heller is a wealthy social activist who seems—the first time we meet him—like he's just another Toohey follower. But there's actually a lot more to Heller than meets the eye. For one thi...

Mrs. Keating is your classic overbearing mother. She's overly involved in her son's life, and she uses an arsenal of weapons (interference, guilt-tripping, manipulation, bribery) to convince her so...

Stengel is the designer who does all the work at the successful firm of Francon and Heyer, even though the big-wigs get the credit. In fact, he's a bit like an architectural ghostwriter. Unfortunat...

Mike is a tough electrician who becomes one of Roark's best friends. Mike initially thinks that Roark is another Peter Keating type—a whiny office boy who doesn't know anything about actual const...

Scarrett's last name sounds like the word "scared," which clues us in to the nature of his character. Scarrett is a rather nervous man who is totally devoted to The Banner and to Wynand. And given...

Lucius Heyer is Francon's partner in the firm, and he's basically around for his money and his social connections. He's not much use to anyone, because he's an old dude with health problems. His re...