The Fountainhead Book Notes Summary

Jimmy Gowan asks Roark to build his gas station; he has seen the Heller house and figures it would be an asset to conduct business in a building that people talk about. The station is built, Gowan is extremely happy, and Roark goes back to "months of idleness." He talks to Heller, who asks why he can't go out and find clients and convince them to trust him. Roark replies that he's not that kind of person, and he doesn't know how to handle people. He admits that he needs people to give him work, but doesn't have any people skills. Heller tells him that although he is the coldest person he's met, he's also in a way the most life-giving.

Mrs. Wayne Wilmot asks Roark to build her house because she is a great fan of Austen Heller. She wants the house done in English Tudor. Roark determines she isn't her own person, and like a sponge, just soaks up what others think. He refuses.

Mr. Robert L. Mundy comes to Roark to build a house that he has wanted since he was young. He wants it built exactly like the mansion owned by the people who scoffed at him while he was growing up. Roark refuses.

Mr. Nathaniel Janss comes to Roark to build his office building. At first, Janss is skeptical, but Heller convinced him to meet Roark. They talk about what he wants and Roark convinces him; he goes to the board of twelve men to decide, and they turn him down. Roark thinks of these men's faces as "empty ovals of flesh."

Topic Tracking: Architecture 8
Topic Tracking: Collectivism 5

John Fargo wants Roark to build "a store newer and smarter than the city has seen." He came to Roark because he had seen the gas station, asked Gowan about it, and then went to see Heller's house.

Mr. Whitford Sanborn comes to Roark to build his house because Cameron had built an office building for him many years ago. He had wanted Cameron, but Cameron wrote a ten-page reply to him about Roark. His wife is vehemently opposed, but Mr. Sanborn wants Roark to go ahead with the design. Roark does, and Sanborn loves it-but their friends do not. Roark gets Mr. Sanborn to sign the plans, and they start to build. During construction, Mrs. Sanborn convinces Roark to change several little things. Roark decides he wants to change an entire wing, and Mr. Sanborn agrees as long as he doesn't have to pay extra money. Roark decides to pay for the changes himself. After the house is finally built, Mrs. Sanborn refuses to live in it; only the son ends up living in the house. An item in the bulletin of the Architects' Guild of America calls it "an eloquent witness to professional incompetence."