Thinking about "The Fountainhead"

Two weeks ago I had a discussion with a gentleman, aged 85 to perfection, about Ayn Rand´s prolific work "The Fountainhead". The man was named Sid, is an architect, though he hasn´t practiced in many years, and was intrigued by Roarke´s name having read Rand´s book. Sid also studied under Frank Lloyd Wright. What I didn´t know is that the character of Howard Roark had been loosely associated with Wright when the book came out. Here is Wikipedia´s all too brief synopsis of Roark, the namesake of our Roarke.

Howard Roark
Howard Roark, Rand's main protagonist, is "tall and gaunt"- "His hair was neither blond nor red, but the exact color of ripe orange rind." An aspiring architect with a unique and uncompromising creative vision, he contrasts sharply with the staid and uninspired conventions of the architectural establishment. He ignores the driving preoccupations of the world around him: wealth, status, social standing among the elite. Roark takes pleasure in the act of creation. But, he is constantly opposed by "the hostility of second-hand souls", the second-handers; those unwilling or afraid to recognize his creative ability.

To that I must add that Roark was unafraid of this life, he knew he could do more and yet when times called for it he would do whatever it took for him to survive in this world. Trying again and again, until he could produce quality without compromise. One has to stop and pause because it is quality that matters in this world and not quantity. Look at what quantity has done to first the economy of the U.S. while spreading it´s reach into the global economy. Now, I pause to think about what happens when you name your son after an enigmatic book character and he develops into his own person that parallels written, unpresumed qualities. I wanted to instill all those qualities in my children. It seems doubly concentrated in my Roarke.

At the same party where I talked with the octogenarian architect there were also many friends. One friend said "Roarke´s shirt is on inside out". To which I replied; "I know, he dressed himself, I told him it was inside out and he didn´t want to change it." This may seem simple to some, but to tell my Roarke that something isn´t within the norm and socially acceptable is like signing on to WWIII, seriously...you haven´t heard a kid screamed until you´ve seen Roarke and his theatrics. Yes, this is a serious pain in my ass...can´t you just put on clothes the way everyone else does or the myriad of other things other people do in a day but he refuses to participate in. In next breath I have to say to myself, well...we picked his name and gave him a title to go into this world with, pick a less controversial name next time. (By the way, I don´t think there will be a next time for me, Roarke requires energy that could not be diverted to an additional kid.)

In these crazy turbulent times I think about Roark and Roarke. Their passion, their stick-to-it-ness, how they are abrasive to the rest of the world, strong personalities which refuse to follow the flock. Never did I want to rear children that were pushovers without a sense of what is at the core right or wrong, abusive and non-abusive. That is my Roarke, painful for this mother to rear (just follow the rules damnit!) but in him I see the budding of this man that is strong beyond what I can imagine. Ayn Rand may have been an author to despise, disagree with, call crazy because of Objectivism...BUT she was also an author that gave my husband and myself the name a of a strong man, uncompromising in his duties as a creative human with the ability to survive scorn from his peers. To my Roarke; I hope your name serves you, I hope your load will be lighter to bear than fictional Howard Roark, though I think you are the right soul to meet the ugliness in life and rise up with your dignity intact.

P.S. Can anyone explain to me why Peter Keating´s Wiki entry is twice as long as Roark´s? For me, Roark was the central character with character in Rand´s book and yet we get a blurb. Did I miss something?