Exactly how steamy is this story?
R
There is a lot of sex in this book—it's sort of accepted as a fact of life.
Hey, The Fountainhead is set in the Roaring 1920s: things were naughty back then. The sexual attraction between Dominique and Roark becomes a major aspect of their relationship and, by association, a major aspect of the book.
We're giving this bad boy an R rating due, in large part, to the most infamous scene in the book, when Roark rapes Dominique not long after meeting her. The fact that the two of them go on to fall in love and eventually get married doesn't really alter the fact that their first sexual encounter is violent, disturbing, largely non-consensual, and more than a little confusing.
Debates have raged for years over whether or not Roark's actions could be considered rape and about what sort of message the book is sending out with the inclusion of such a scene. The narrative doesn't seem to consider that Roark is in the wrong here. Rand herself actually said it was "rape by engraved invitation," implying that Dominique consented, effectively classifying this sexual encounter as kinky sex rather than sexual assault. Some feminist critics argue that Rand is trying to romanticize what was really a violent act. You can check out our "Best of the Web" section for some links about this.