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Mike Donnigan
Alvah Scarret is editor-in-chief of the Banner. Unlike Wynand, who understands that the Banner is a low-quality publication, Scarret thinks that it is a great newspaper and is proud of it. While he defers to Wynand and feels a sense of loyalty to him, his opinions are changeable, just like those of Wynand’s readers. Scarret is genial but nervous, and he comes under Toohey’s influence when Toohey tells him that Wynand’s marriage to Dominique is sure to ruin the Banner. Scarret takes to writing editorials that denounce individualism, and is short with Wynand when Wynand asks him to throw away his work, telling Wynand that these ideas are the future. Scarret stays with the Banner even when much of its staff quits, and works hard to help Wynand keep it going. When Wynand and Dominique get a divorce, Scarret is quick to write articles blaming Dominique for Wynand’s unpopular opinions and behavior. By the end, Scarret is running the Banner while Wynand takes a backseat and deals only with the financials. Scarret’s lack of principles is more suited to the Banner than Wynand’s high ideals. To Scarret, nothing is sacred and everything is fodder for public consumption. While he is a genial character and does not intend harm, his immediate instinct is to side with popular opinions rather than stand up for any principles. In fact, he does not seem to have any principles at all other than his affection for the Banner.
Alvah Scarret Quotes in The Fountainhead
The The Fountainhead quotes below are all either spoken by Alvah Scarret or refer to Alvah Scarret . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part 1: Chapter 12
Quotes
“If I found a job, a project, an idea or a person I wanted—I’d have to depend on the whole world. Everything has strings leading to everything else. We’re all so tied together. We’re all in a net, the net is waiting, and we’re pushed into it by a single desire. You want a thing and it’s precious to you. Do you know who is standing ready to tear it out of your hands? You can’t know, it may be so involved and so far away, but someone is ready, and you’re afraid of them all. And you cringe and crawl and you beg and you accept them—just so they’ll let you keep it. And look at whom you come to accept.”
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Part 3: Chapter 9
Quotes
“Do you know what you’re actually in love with? Integrity. The impossible. […] like a work of art. That’s the only field where it can be found—art. But you want it in the flesh. […] Well, you see, I’ve never had any integrity. […] I hate the conception of it. […] I’m perfectly indifferent to slugs like Ellsworth Toohey or my friend Alvah, and quite willing to leave them in peace. But just let me see a man of slightly higher dimension—and I’ve got to make a sort of Toohey out of him. […]”
“Why?”
[…]
“Power, Dominique. The only thing I ever wanted. To know that there’s not a man living whom I can’t force to do—anything. Anything I choose. The man I couldn’t break would destroy me. But I’ve spent years finding out how safe I am.”
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Alvah Scarret Quotes in The Fountainhead
The The Fountainhead quotes below are all either spoken by Alvah Scarret or refer to Alvah Scarret . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part 1: Chapter 12
Quotes
“If I found a job, a project, an idea or a person I wanted—I’d have to depend on the whole world. Everything has strings leading to everything else. We’re all so tied together. We’re all in a net, the net is waiting, and we’re pushed into it by a single desire. You want a thing and it’s precious to you. Do you know who is standing ready to tear it out of your hands? You can’t know, it may be so involved and so far away, but someone is ready, and you’re afraid of them all. And you cringe and crawl and you beg and you accept them—just so they’ll let you keep it. And look at whom you come to accept.”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3: Chapter 9
Quotes
“Do you know what you’re actually in love with? Integrity. The impossible. […] like a work of art. That’s the only field where it can be found—art. But you want it in the flesh. […] Well, you see, I’ve never had any integrity. […] I hate the conception of it. […] I’m perfectly indifferent to slugs like Ellsworth Toohey or my friend Alvah, and quite willing to leave them in peace. But just let me see a man of slightly higher dimension—and I’ve got to make a sort of Toohey out of him. […]”
“Why?”
[…]
“Power, Dominique. The only thing I ever wanted. To know that there’s not a man living whom I can’t force to do—anything. Anything I choose. The man I couldn’t break would destroy me. But I’ve spent years finding out how safe I am.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
