Editing The Fountainhead (section)

===Feminist criticisms===
[[Feminism|Feminist]] critics have condemned Roark and Dominique's first sexual encounter, accusing Rand of endorsing rape.<ref name="Bernstein207"/> Feminist critics have attacked the scene as representative of an [[antifeminist]] viewpoint in Rand's works that makes women subservient to men.<ref>{{harvnb|Den Uyl|1999|p=22}}</ref> [[Susan Brownmiller]], in her 1975 work ''[[Against Our Will: Men, Women and Rape]]'', denounced what she called "Rand's philosophy of rape", for portraying women as wanting "humiliation at the hands of a superior man". She called Rand "a traitor to her own sex".<ref>{{harvnb|Brownmiller|1975|pp=348–350}}. Reprinted in {{harvnb|Gladstein|Sciabarra|1999|pp=63–65}}</ref> Susan Love Brown said the scene presents Rand's view of sex as [[sadomasochism]] involving "feminine subordination and passivity".<ref>Brown, Susan Love. "Ayn Rand: The Woman Who Would ''Not'' Be President". In {{harvnb|Gladstein|Sciabarra|1999|p=289}}</ref> [[Barbara Grizzuti Harrison]] suggested that women who enjoy such "masochistic fantasies" are "damaged" and have low self-esteem.<ref>Harrison, Barbara Grizzuti. "Psyching Out Ayn Rand". In {{harvnb|Gladstein|Sciabarra|1999|pp=74–75}}</ref> While Mimi Reisel Gladstein found elements to admire in Rand's female protagonists, she said that readers who have "a raised consciousness about the nature of rape" would disapprove of Rand's "romanticized rapes".<ref>{{harvnb|Gladstein|1999|pp=27–28}}</ref>

Rand's posthumously published working notes for the novel indicate that when she started on the book in 1936, she conceived of Roark's character that "were it necessary, he could rape her and feel justified".<ref>{{harvnb|Rand|1997|p=96}}</ref> She denied that what happened in the finished novel was actually rape, referring to it as "rape by engraved invitation".<ref name="burns86">{{harvnb|Burns|2009|p=86}}</ref> She said Dominique wanted and "all but invited" the act, citing, among other things, a passage where Dominique scratches a marble slab in her bedroom to invite Roark to repair it.<ref>{{harvnb|Rand|1995|p=631}}</ref> A true rape, Rand said, would be "a dreadful crime".<ref>{{harvnb|Rand|1995|p=282}}</ref> Defenders of the novel have agreed with this interpretation. In an essay specifically explaining this scene, [[Andrew Bernstein (philosopher)|Andrew Bernstein]] wrote that although much "confusion" exists about it, the descriptions in the novel provide "conclusive" evidence of Dominique's strong attraction to Roark and her desire to have sex with him.<ref>Bernstein, Andrew. "Understanding the 'Rape' Scene in ''The Fountainhead''". In {{harvnb|Mayhew|2006|pp=201–203}}</ref> Individualist feminist [[Wendy McElroy]] said that while Dominique is "thoroughly taken", there is nonetheless "clear indication" that Dominique both gave consent for and enjoyed the experience.<ref name="McElroy162">McElroy, Wendy. "Looking Through a Paradigm Darkly". In {{harvnb|Gladstein|Sciabarra|1999|pp=162–164}}</ref> Both Bernstein and McElroy saw the interpretations of feminists such as Brownmiller as based in a false understanding of sexuality.<ref name="McElroy162"/><ref name="Bernstein207">Bernstein, Andrew. "Understanding the 'Rape' Scene in ''The Fountainhead''". In {{harvnb|Mayhew|2006|p=207}}</ref>