The Fountainhead: Part 3: Chapter 3 Summary & Analysis

When Gail Wynand meets Dominique, he says she looks a lot like her sculpture, and she loses her composure for a second. She wants to know where he saw the statue, and he says it is in his art gallery, that Toohey sent it to him as a present. She says she is happy Wynand has it because he is “the person before last in the world” whom she’d like the statue to be with, while Toohey is the last. Wynand wants to know who the sculptor is, and Dominique tells him it’s Steven Mallory. Wynand is amused that Toohey pretended to forget the name of the man who tried to shoot him, and that he “almost like[s] his artistry.” Dominique says she doesn’t “share [Wynand’s] taste.” Wynand says he finds her interesting.

Dominique tells Wynand she used to work for him and was fired over the scandal surrounding the Stoddard Temple. He is surprised that her name is Dominique Francon, since he only knows her as Mrs. Peter Keating. He wants to know why she never tried to meet him when she’d worked for him for six years, and she says she “had no desire to.” She had no desire to make a career out of the Banner.

Dominique says she is there to ask for the Stoneridge commission for her husband, Keating, and that she is willing to sleep with Wynand in exchange for it. He says he was about to suggest that, but not on their first meeting and not so crudely, to which Dominique says she has saved him “time and lies.” Wynand asks her if she loves her husband and if he’s a great architect, to which she says she despises him and that Keating is a mediocre architect. She says she is doing all of this only because it amuses her. Wynand says he understands that she “want[s] to sell [herself] for the lowest motive to the lowest person,” that she wants “to express through the sexual act [her] utter contempt for [him].” Dominique says he is wrong about this—she only wants to express her contempt for herself.

Wynand says he accepts Dominique’s offer. They will sail for two months on his yacht, and she will return with the contract for Stoneridge. Keating, Wynand, and Dominique meet for dinner later, and Keating is impressed with the fancy restaurant Wynand has invited them to. Wynand tells Keating the contract is his, which Keating is surprised to hear since Dominique hasn’t yet told him. Keating promises to “make Stoneridge [his] best achievement.” Wynand tells him Dominique has a great body, implying that he will sleep with her in exchange for Stoneridge, and Keating is extremely uncomfortable to discuss it. Yet, he doesn’t object.