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Reviews Literature / The Fountainhead

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Shrikesnest Small, vicious Since: May, 2009
Small, vicious
04/05/2017 12:34:16 •••

Kind Of A Roadblock...

Alright, this is coming from a fan of Ayn Rand and a one-time objectivist who loves these books. They're thought-provoking, and quite good as long as you view them as editorials or debate material by a different means instead of stories. I really enjoyed The Fountainhead, and think others could enjoy it too.

But.

There is a scene in the book where the protagonist rapes a woman and she likes it and ends up falling in love with him.

If you can get past that, you'll find a very compelling book with strong metaphor and a deliciously bitter tone. If you can't get past that, well... I'd stay away.

Darkblade Since: Jan, 2001
10/04/2009 00:00:00

That is a really big "If".

Shrikesnest Since: May, 2009
01/18/2010 00:00:00

Yeah, no argument.

"Pale Ebenezer thought it wrong to fight, but Roaring Bill (who killed him) thought it right." - Hillaire Belloc, The Pacifist
Garbeld Since: Jul, 2009
07/20/2010 00:00:00

I have to say, that's the point where I set the book down and never really thought about picking it up again.

71.34.16.163 Since: Dec, 1969
07/21/2010 00:00:00

Not that I'd recommend using the "she was asking for it" defense in court or elsewhere, but one could argue that she was asking for it and wasn't all that bothered by it. Sort of a play-act rape. Again, not that I'd suggest real rapes are play-acts.

It's been a while since I've read it, so I could be wrong. But so far as I remember Rand isn't in general a very realistic writer. She calls herself a romantic-realist, or whatever it is. By which we're to understand that in order for us to better understand the real world she creates a fantasy world full of walking and talking symbols. She offers Dostoyevsky ("Crime and Punishment"), Hugo ("Les Miserables"), and Sienkiewicz ("Quo Vadis") as important antecedents. All of them are notable for pushing particular ideological agendas (as we put it these days) through their novels.

The rape scene, in romantic-realist terms, was a demonstration of an essential aspect of her anti-femist theory of love. Namely that women want to be dominated. Pretty sure we're not supposed to take it seriously. Which is why it's a poor scene, as it's hard to be fine with rape no matter how messed up the heroine is before and how happy after. However, I don't think it ruins the whole book.

undeadfun Since: Dec, 2016
04/05/2017 00:00:00

So you had no problem with the protagonist being a sociopathic terrorist? That shows your priorities.


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