What role do Dominique and Catherine play in relation to their male counterparts? What does Rand say about women in society at that time through her representation of the female characters? How do the female characters exert their influence? Do the female characters represent a theme of sexual morality in the novel? You could think about whether they use their sexuality to get what they want out of society, or whether the men in society use the women as sexual objects to further their own aims.
Roark refuses to comply with convention in several aspects: art, his profession, and society. What price does he pay for his individualism? What does he gain? The divide between society and the individual is the key theme of this novel. Do Roark's experiences suggest that we can live in separation from society and still survive? How does this fit with the Communist mood in Russia, Rand's native country? Is Rand trying to rebel against Communism by championing the idea of the individual, or is she showing through Roark that the polar opposite of collectivism is also unworkable? Does Rand suggest that there is a middle ground between individualism and collectivism, or does she just criticize them without suggesting an alternative political ideal?
While Rand was writing "The Fountainhead," fascism and totalitarianism were taking hold in Russia and Europe. To what extent do you think that this political context is portrayed in the novel? What are the consequences for Roark's dissent from the influence of tradition and the establishment? What drives Roark's desire to refuse the political and social status quo? Does this driving force sustain itself throughout the novel? Think about the episodes where Roark seems to clash most violently with society. Are there any other members of that society who could be possible dissenters? This book was published in 1943, in the middle of World War II. This was a time when dissent from the political status quo was deadly. Does Rand portray the threat of death to dissenters in the novel? Does it capture society's fear of speaking out against its rulers?
"The Fountainhead" features a bombing and a rape. What are the consequences of this violence? What purpose do you think that the theme of violence serves in the novel? To what extent do you feel that violence in the novel pre-empts the violence of World War II? Is violence ever portrayed as a justifiable form of force? Does the novel take a moral stance against violence or is it presented at times as a necessary form of resistance?