the exceptional, creative individual (the Master) and the undifferentiated conformist crowd. He does not consider the Randian hero to be phallocratic, arguing that these "upright, uncompromising masculine figures with a will of steel" in effect emerge as the feminine subject liberated from the hysteria of entanglement in the desire of the Other to a "being of pure drive" indifferent towards it. Author Stephen Newman compares the Randian hero to the concept of the Übermensch created by philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, saying that "the Randian hero is really Nietzsche's superman in the guise of the entrepreneur". Specific instances Although the archetype of the Randian hero appears in Rand's earliest work (notably in Night of January 16ths Bjorn Faulkner and We the Livings Leo Kovalensky), its best known examples appear in Rand's mature work, specifically in the novella Anthem (1938) and the novels The Fountainhead (1943) and Atlas Shrugged (1957). Equality 7-2521 Equality 7-2521, the protagonist of Rand's dystopian novella, Anthem, is a man with a quick and inquisitive mind who is forced by the leaders of his collectivist society to work as a street sweeper. Witnessing a rebel being burned at the stake, Equality recognizes a common spirit. In defiance against the edicts of his fellows, he manages to rediscover electricity, a technology that had been lost by the dystopian society of the story. He flees the collectivist society with his lover (who names him The Unconquered) and together they build a stronghold of individualism from which they and like-minded individuals can begin their struggle for freedom. Howard Roark Ayn Rand created the Randian hero in earnest in the character of Howard Roark in The Fountainhead. An architect, Roark conflicts with his profession's establishment on multiple occasions. The early stages of the novel begin with Roark being expelled from university because he refused to design in traditional styles. Throughout his career, he refuses to design according to any vision apart from his own. The architects' professional body scorns him for not paying "proper respect" to tradition, yet in the end, he triumphs. Dagny Taggart The protagonist of Atlas Shrugged is Dagny Taggart, described by Rand as "the feminine Roark". Atlas Shrugged introduces several Randian heroes, both in the backstory and in the primary narrative. In the story, they personify the intellect—their withdrawal from the world under the leadership of John Galt parallels the world's gradual collapse. In considering the character of Dagny