The Journals of Ayn Rand Page 31

  Plot Theme: Howard Roark, an architect, a man of genius, originality and complete spiritual independence, holds the truth of his convictions above all things in life. He fights against society for his creative freedom, he refuses to compromise in any way, he builds only as he believes, he will not submit to conventions, traditions, popular taste, money or fame. Dominique Francon, the woman he loves, thinks that his fight is hopeless. Afraid that society will hurt and corrupt him, she tries to block his career in order to save him from certain disaster. When the disaster comes and he faces public disgrace, she decides to take her revenge on the man responsible for it, Gail Wynand, a powerful, corrupt newspaper publisher. She marries Wynand, determined to break him. But Roark rises slowly, in spite of every obstacle. When he finally meets Wynand in person, Dominique is terrified to see that the two men love and understand each other. Roark’s integrity reaches Wynand’s better self, Roark is the ideal which Wynand has betrayed in his ambition for power. Without intending it, Roark achieves his own revenge—by becoming Wynand’s best friend. Dominique finds herself suffering in a strange triangle—jealous of her husband’s devotion to the man she loves. When Roark’s life and career are threatened in a final test, when he becomes the victim of public fury and has to stand trial, alone, hated, opposed and denounced by all—Wynand makes a supreme effort toward his own redemption. He stands by Roark and defends him. Wynand loses, defeated and broken by the corrupt machine he himself had created. But Roark wins without his help—wins by the power of his own truth. Roark is acquitted—and Dominique comes to him, free to find happiness with him, realizing that the battle is never hopeless, that nothing can defeat man’s integrity. [Note that the movie’s plot is to focus on Roark, Wynand, and Dominique; Keating and Toohey are not even mentioned.]

  Specific theme, as presented in screenplay:

  Independence—as against obeying the wishes of others, as against the “social” spirit, which is: Keating, who tried to live by public polls; Wynand, who tried to use the mob; Toohey, who consciously used collectivism for the purpose of gaining power and enslaving mankind.

  Therefore, Roark’s speech must summarize the above, give it a statement—the good is not the social, but the individual, not the herd-instinct, but independence; to live for yourself or for others is an issue of the spirit, the choice between one’s own judgment and the surrender of one’s judgment, between integrity and mental prostitution. The form of a society will be the result of this basic issue.

  May 3, 1948

  [Almost five years later, Warner Brothers began to make the movie. Shortly before the start of principal photography, the director (King Vidor) asked AR to write instructions for the scene in which, after Kiki Holcombe’s party, Dominique comes to Roark’s apartment. Patricia Neal, Vidor said, needed a better understanding of Dominique’s psychology. The instructions helped; AR commented later that this was “the best acted scene in the movie.”]

  Notes on Scene in Roark’s Apartment

  Dominique’s Psychology

  This scene contains the entire progression of Roark’s and Dominique’s love affair in the book. Dominique’s part in the scene gives her a chance to show every aspect of her character.

  Dominique’s basic attitude is the violent conflict between her passion for Roark and her despair. The more she admires him, the more certain she is that he will be destroyed. She is so hurt herself that she is driven to hurt him, but her cruelty to him is only an extreme expression of her love. We must be certain that there is never a touch of feminine cattiness, vanity or malice in Dominique’s performance. She defies Roark because she worships him. She defies him for the pleasure of seeing him master her. Her real desire is always to see him win.

  The different aspects of Dominique’s character and mood in the scene go in this order: Defiance—bitterness—sex—feminine helplessness.

  1. At the beginning of the scene, Dominique is coldly, arrogantly defiant. This is her way of paying Roark for the rape. Her attitude, in effect, is: Well, if you want to break me down, I will break down with a vengeance, I will go all the way—and it won’t do you any good. She is challenging him by overdoing her surrender. To achieve this effect, she must read her lines coldly, arrogantly, with an undertone of bitter mockery. When she speaks of how much she loves him and how much she missed him, her voice must sound as if she were throwing insults in his face, throwing them coldly, contemptuously and deliberately. Then the lines will sound as if they are torn out of her against her will—and this will convey a feeling of passion for him much greater than any sentimental reading could achieve.

  2. These are the speeches where Dominique shows all her bitterness against the world—and, in doing it, she shows her own uncompromising idealism and her admiration for Roark. In this bitter form, she pays him the greatest compliments. This is her real declaration of love for him—because here she states the reasons for her love: she loves all the things which the world hates him for. While she speaks about his business and clients, her voice has more emotion than she showed in the preceding moments when she spoke of love. This is where she begins to show despair, but not openly; it is merely in the bitterness and tension of the way she speaks; she must speak as if every word hurt her.

  3. Here we see Dominique’s sexual violence. This is the first time when she gives in to Roark physically and voluntarily. Her response, when he seizes her in his arms, is a contradiction of everything she has said. She has spoken coldly about wanting to leave him, but the moment he touches her, her response is one of desperate, irresistible hunger for him. While she is in Roark’s arms, she is her real self, free for a few moments. She is, frankly and openly, a primitive sexy female—in the highest sense of the words. When Roark says, “I had to let you learn to accept it,” her silent answer shows that she has more than accepted it: the way she kisses him has the same quality of open desire as his, it is she who seizes him as he had done it to her before. The purpose of this part of the scene is to explain why Dominique decides to marry Wynand: Her physical hunger for Roark is so great that she knows she will not be able to resist it. She knows she will not escape, but will keep coming back to him in spite of all her convictions—so she has to tie herself in some irrevocable manner to keep herself away from Roark. That is the motivation and purpose of her marriage to Wynand.

  4. This is the last and startling transition of Dominique’s attitude in the scene. It is the only time we will see her break down completely—and it must be the breakdown of a strong woman, not of a weepy little girl. Her despair has been growing throughout the scene and now it breaks into the open. Here she is completely feminine, helpless, pleading—but never weak. She has a desperate urgency and sincerity—she does not realize the preposterousness of what she is asking—so that when she speaks about cooking and scrubbing floors, it does not sound homey, but tragic. When she says, “Don’t laugh, I can,” Roark has not given the slightest indication of any desire to laugh. In fact, this is where he listens to her most earnestly, because he knows that this is real despair.When Roark refuses her and she gets up to reach for her wrap, her manner becomes that of the cold, detached, Madonna-like woman which she is through most of the picture. But the rest of the time, she gives the impression of a person who feels nothing; here, she is a person who has felt too much—she is drained of all emotion, life or hope.

  At the very end of the scene, when she is in Roark’s arms again, her desire for him returns, but now it is not enjoyment, it is a tortured, involuntary surrender. She really wants to escape from him—her manner must be the direct transition to the next scene where she goes to Wynand.

  Roark’s Psychology

  Roark’s attitude throughout the scene is much simpler. There is no conflict in him. He knows what he wants—but he learns in this scene that he cannot have Dominique, at least not for a long time.

  At first, his manner is a direct continuation of his attitude in the quarry sequence. It is self-confident, mocking, with an undertone of triumph—because she has surrendered by coming to him, which is what he was waiting for. He listens to her first speeches with the faintest hint of a mocking smile. He is enjoying it. He likes her defiance, because he likes a victory over a strong adversary.

  The first change in his attitude comes when she says: “I love you, Roark.” This is more than he expected. He knows that coming from her it is a danger signal.

  When she tells him why she is certain that he will be destroyed by the world, he listens calmly. He knows that he won’t be destroyed. He is so sure of himself that he will not argue with her about it. He knows she is wrong and, therefore, he feels confident that he can win her.

  His only answer is to sweep all her objections away simply by showing her the greatness of their love for each other. To him, the world can never be a threat and can never stand in the way of his own happiness.

  It is only when Dominique falls down on her knees and starts pleading with him that he realizes completely the extent of her despair. Then he understands that he cannot force her into his own attitude toward life, that she will have to learn it herself. He acts toward her on the same principle as he acts in his professional career. He wants a voluntary acceptance, he will not force his ideas on anyone. He raped her only because he knew that she wanted it; but she is not ready for happiness and he cannot force her to be. His action here is quietly heroic. He could have demanded anything he wished of her, and she would have obeyed. Instead, he lets her go. His last speech must be delivered very quietly and with great self-confidence, so great that it needs no obvious emphasis, no raised voice. It is a man speaking with absolute certainty, even when he suffers, and he does suffer here.

  Their last embrace is in the nature of a farewell—though not an immediate farewell. This will be their
last night together, and Roark knows it, but he does intend to have that last night.

  Notes About the Set

  It is extremely important that Roark’s room be kept completely in character with him. He is quite poor at this time. He knows that whatever money he got for the Enright House will have to last him for a long time, and he is not the type of man who would waste money on personal luxuries. Also, he is too great an artist ever to want any second-rate junk around him. Therefore, his room must be extremely, startlingly simple. It is not the simplicity of squalid poverty, but the simplicity of deliberate intention. The room must be large, with a feeling of space and with an absolute minimum of furniture. He would want his home to be as functional as his buildings. He would have only the things he needs and nothing else. He would never make attempts at homey comfort or prettifying. Above all, there must not be any pictures on the walls. The walls must be bare. There must be one large window, a couch, a drafting table, a few chairs, a dresser, a wooden filing cabinet for his drawings—and that is all. No curtains, no rugs, no boudoir pillows, no books, no fancy lamps or ash trays and, for the love of God, no vases or knick-knacks. The furniture must be modern and very simple—the kind of good, but inexpensive modem that one finds sometimes in New York. An impression of beauty can be achieved by the proportions and the relations of the objects in the room. The effect of the room must be the same as the effect of Roark’s character: direct, stark, purposeful, austere. Since the love scene is to be played in evening clothes, its effect—against the simplicity of a room that looks ascetic like a monk’s cell—will be most startling.

  Suggestions

  In the love scene, Roark sits down, not in a chair, but on a couch. The way I would suggest doing it is as follows: They stand near the couch when Roark seizes her in his arms. After his line: “You’d rather not hear it now? But I want you to hear it. I love you,” he kisses her and they lean back and go down together, without breaking the kiss, his mouth not leaving hers.

  For the last embrace my suggestion is this: Dominique is wearing a strapless evening gown; when she is about to leave, she reaches for her wrap and puts it on. She has it on when Roark takes her in his arms. Show the embrace in a close-up that includes their heads and shoulders. As he holds her, while she moans that she wants to leave him, the wrap slips off. We do not see her gown, but only her naked arms, back and shoulders; we see Roark’s hand moving slowly from her shoulder down her back.

  PART 3

  TRANSITION BETWEEN NOVELS

  8

  THE MORAL BASIS OF INDIVIDUALISM

  Shortly after completing The Fountainhead, AR contracted with her publisher, Bobbs-Merrill, to write a short nonfiction book giving a systematic presentation of the novel’s ethics and politics. Her working title was The Moral Basis of Individualism.

  AR’s notes for this book provide a fascinating record of her philosophic development during the period between The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. In the course of these notes, she is discovering and clarifying many of the ideas that become essential in John Galt’s speech. Her formulations here should not be interpreted as Objectivism; rather, they ore her notes to herself while she is working out how to present Objectivism as a systematic philosophy.

  Her joumal for The Moral Basis of Individualism con be viewed as a progression with three stages. She begins in September of 1943 by writing a “tentative outline,” a foreword and an unworked draft of the first three chapters. She then stops work on the draft and instead begins asking herself questions and thinking aloud on paper. Finally, in the summer of 1945, she critiques her original draft and rewrites part of it before deciding to drop the project.

  There seem to be two reasons why she lost interest in writing this book. Years later, she recalled that in the early stages of planning she had concluded that “it was useless to present a morality without a metaphysics and epistemology.” Second, her primary interest was fiction writing In her journal from May 4, 1946 (see Chapter 11), she explains that the idea of writing a philosophical non-fiction book bored me; in such a book, the purpose would actually be to teach others, to present my ideas to them. In a book of fiction the purpose is to create, for myself, the kind of world I want and to live in it while I am creating it; then, as a secondary consequence, to let others enjoy this world, if, and to the extent that, they can.

  August 18, 1943

  Tentative Outline

  I. The Life Principle

  The “nature” of man—the primary matters of his existence—the rational process—the particular qualities of man as creator (the Roark qualities)—the law of his survival (the Active Man). Show how the “action spark” has the same application today as in the primitive jungle. How to define and recognize it.

  II. The Death Principle

  The only other possible way of survival—through the brains of others. The second-hander, his particular qualities (the Passive Man). (Altruism and Collectivism.)

  III. The Moral Law

  The exposition of the new moral law—examples to range over the whole field, in history, politics, economics, personal relations. Not serve or hurt others—the basic position and the basic realm is neutral, independent. Express the idea of the “sin of omission.” IV. Individualism and Collectivism

  The mind cannot be added. Brute force is the only form of expression possible to a collective—but even force cannot be exercised without reason.

  V. Man and Men

  The proper relationship of man to men, deduced from the moral law. Traders, not servants. But trade only that which can be traded—hold on to the untradable. Altruism is an absolute evil. (The evil escape which it permits and becomes.) VI. The Moral Society

  The proper society deduced from the proper relationship. (The advantages of society to man—but only on the above basis. What is the use of advantages that take his life in exchange, by crossing the basic limit of his rights?)

  VII. How It Works

  The Capitalist System. Selfishness—and the benefits to others as a secondary consequence. Government as protection of the individual against the collective. (The police protect single men against mobs—not a collective against single evil-doers.)

  VIII. The Immoral Society

  Duplicate the same process in brief, starting from the altruistic principle and leading to an outline of a consistent collectivist society. (Collectivism as the principle of race prejudice and of every form of injustice.) First—theory, then show examples from practice.

  Notes

  To start with: Man exists and must survive as man. This is not for those who do not believe in reason and logic. (?) [This last sentence was crossed out.]

  The reversal of all moral values when taken from the individual realm into the collective.

  Altruism is spiritual cannibalism. If it is so wrong to eat another man’s body—why is it right to feed upon his soul for one’s own survival?

  The man who wishes to live for others is merely confirming his inferiority. The infallible test of a man’s value is the degree of his indignation against the idea of compulsion and against the idea of being like others, of being unoriginal. (Look at the others—is that what you are proud of being like? If not, do something about it, don’t hold it as a virtue.)

  Man is not his brother’s keeper. (All responsibility must carry with it the authority to enforce it.)

  The altruist’s inevitable concern with the inferior—its reasons and results.

  The “good of a collective” that demands the sacrifice of an inventor in order to avoid unemployment.

  Man cannot give life to himself. But it is up to him to maintain it.

  (For “free will”: you cannot change the basic materials—nature, natural law, your own nature—but you are free in the use you make of it; you exercise choice among given materials. Be careful here of the definition of “your own nature”—how much is given to you, how much you can alter. You do not make an automobile nor can you make it perform what it can’t perform, such as flying, but you can drive where you wish.)