To Lilian Koch, a fan [Letter 91]

139 East 35th Street
New York City

August 28, 1943

Dear Miss Koch:

Thank you for your nice letter. I appreciate it very much that you wish to discuss “The Fountainhead” in your professional work. As a personal note from the author, I should like to say that “The Fountainhead” represents my tribute to the heroic in man, to the creator, the individual who stands against the collective.

As for your questions about Dominique, I am afraid that I cannot explain her any better than I did in the book. I could add only that the greatness of her love for Roark made her want to destroy him because she could not bear the thought of his existence in a world dominated by second-handers. Her love was worship and it is not easy to see sacrilege against one’s god committed every day by every person around. She wanted to prevent incidents such as the Stoddard Temple. Why did she marry Wynand? To make him pay for the destruction of the Stoddard Temple. She lost her fear of the world when she understood that it has never been and can never be dominated by the second-handers nor by any collective, that the world lives, grows and is moved by the genius of the creators, of the single, clean, exceptional men such as Howard Roark.

If you liked the ideas of “The Fountainhead”, I suggest that you read “The God of the Machine” by Isabel Paterson. It is a non-fiction book, recently published, that presents the best, most complete statement of the principles of individualism in the political-sociological sphere and the basic laws of a free society. It should be read by all those who believe in man’s freedom.

Sincerely yours,