The original frontpage of Henrik Ibsen's En folkefiende, 1882.

An Enemy of the People (original Norwegian title: En folkefiende) is an 1882 play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. Ibsen wrote this play in the response to the public outcry against his play Ghosts, which was considered scandalous for the time. Ghosts had challenged the hypocrisy of Victorian morality and was deemed indecent for its veiled references to syphilis. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or drama. ... Ibsen redirects here. ... Ghosts (original Norwegian title: Gengangere) is a play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. ... Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease caused by Treponema pallidum. ...

An Enemy of the People addresses the irrational tendencies of the masses, and the hypocritical and corrupt nature of the political system that they support. It is the story of one man's brave struggle to do the right thing and speak the truth in the face of extreme social intolerance. The play's protagonist, Dr Stockmann, represents the playwright's own voice. Upon completion of the play, Ibsen wrote to his publisher in Copenhagen : "I am still uncertain as to whether I should call it a comedy or a straight drama. It may [have] many traits of comedy, but it also is based on a serious idea." The play is notable as one of the first works of fiction to feature an open ending. For other uses, see Copenhagen (disambiguation). ...

Plot

Dr. Stockmann is the popular citizen of a small coastal town in Norway. The town has recently invested a large amount of public and private money towards the development of baths, a project led by Dr. Stockmann and his brother, the Mayor. The town is expecting a surge in tourism and prosperity from the new baths, said to be of great medicinal value and as such, the baths are the pride of the town. However, as the baths are starting to succeed, Dr. Stockmann discovers that waste products from the town's tannery are contaminating the baths causing serious illness among the tourists. He expects this important discovery to be his greatest achievement, and promptly sends a detailed report to the Mayor, which includes a proposed solution, which would come at a considerable cost to the town. The Lachine Canal, in Montreal, is badly polluted Pollution is the release of harmful environmental contaminants, or the substances so released. ...

But to his surprise, Stockmann finds it difficult to get through to the authorities. They seem unable to appreciate the seriousness of the issue and unwilling to publicly acknowledge and address the problem because it could mean financial ruin for the town. As the conflict ensues, the Mayor warns his brother that he should "acquiesce in subordinating himself to the community". Stockmann refuses to accept this, and rents a hall in order to hold a town meeting and convince the people to close the baths.

The townspeople - eagerly awaiting the prosperity that the baths are believed will bring - refuse to accept Stockmann's claims, as his friends and allies, who had explicitly given support for his campaign, turn against him en masse. He is taunted and denounced as a lunatic, an "Enemy of the People." In a scathing rebuke of both the Victorian notion of community and the principles of democracy, Dr. Stockmann proclaims that in matters of right and wrong, the individual is superior to the multitude, who are easily led by self-advancing demagogues. Stockmann sums up Ibsen's denunciation of the masses, with the memorable quote "...the strongest man in the world is the man who stands most alone." The term enemy of the people (Russian language: враг народа, vrag naroda) was a fluid designation under the Bolsheviks rule in regards to their real or suspected political or class opponents, sometimes including former allies. ... Queen Victoria (shown here on the morning of her accession to the Throne, 20 June 1837) gave her name to the historic era The Victorian era of the United Kingdom marked the height of the British Industrial Revolution and the apex of the British Empire. ... Demagogy (from Greek demos, people, and agogos, leading) refers to a political strategy for obtaining and gaining political power by appealing to the popular prejudices, fears, and expectations of the public — typically via impassioned rhetoric and propaganda, and often using nationalistic or populist themes. ...

Characters

List of characters

• Dr. Thomas Stockmann.
• Mrs. Stockmann, his wife.
• Petra, their daughter, a teacher.
• Ejlif & Morten, their sons.
• Peter Stockmann, Dr. Stockmann's elder brother.
• Morten Kiil, a tanner (Mrs. Stockmann's adoptive father) also known as the badger.
• Hovstad, editor.
• Billing, sub-editor.
• Captain Horster.
• Aslaksen, a publisher.
• Men of various conditions and occupations, a few women, and a troop of schoolboys - the audience at a public meeting.

Dr. Thomas Stockmann

Dr Stockmann is the protagonist of Henrik Ibsen's play, An Enemy of the People. He is a doctor who is proud of his service to the community, but he is reviled as a villain when he discovers and threatens to reveal that the town's baths are poisoned. Ibsen redirects here. ... Kids bathing in a small metal tub Bathing is the immersion of the body in fluid, usually water, or an aqueous solution, such as the asses milk favored by Cleopatra VII of Egypt. ...

Stockmann's greatest flaw is a large ego, but he is a determined man who stands his ground no matter the cost to himself.

Themes

In An Enemy of the People, speaking the language of comic exaggeration through the mouth of his spokesman, the disillusioned idealist Dr. Thomas Stockmann, Ibsen puts into very literal terms the theme of the play: It is true that ideas grow stale and platitudinous, but one may go one step further and say flatly that truths die. According to Stockmann, there are no absolute principles of either wisdom or morality. In this Ibsen is referring indirectly to the reception of his previous plays. For example, the biblical injunction "honor thy father and thy mother" referred to in Ghosts is not simply either true or false. It may have been a truth once and a falsehood today.^[1] As Stockmann puts it in his excited harangue to his political enemies: "Truths are by no means the wiry Methuselahs some people think them. A normally constituted truth lives—let us say—as a rule, seventeen or eighteen years; at the outside twenty; very seldom more. And truths so patriarchal as that are always shockingly emaciated." Henrik Johan Ibsen (March 20, 1828–May 23, 1906) was an extremely influential Norwegian playwright who was largely responsible for the rise of the modern realistic drama. ... For the 1986 American crime film, see Wisdom (film). ... -1... This article is about the paranormal. ... Methuselah or Metushélach (Hebrew: מְתוּשֶׁלַח / מְתוּשָׁלַח, Standard  / Tiberian  /  ; Man of the dart, or alternatively when he dies, it shall be sent) is the oldest person whose age is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. ...

Notes

Joseph Wood Krutch (November 25, 1893 - May 22, 1970) was an American writer, critic, and naturalist. ... For Christian theological modernism, see Liberal Christianity and Modernism (Roman Catholicism). ... Look up definition in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Estimation is approximate or uncertain calculation of a result, often based on approximate, uncertain, incomplete, or noisy inputs. ... Localization of Ithaca The big island in the center is Kefalonia. ... Cornell is the name of some places in the United States of America. ... A university press is an academic, nonprofit publishing house that is typically affiliated with a large research university. ...

Adaptations

This classic play has also been adapted by Arthur Miller in the 1950s. His adaptation was presented on National Educational Television in 1966, in a production starring James Daly. It was also made into a movie of the same name in 1978, starring Steve McQueen. Arthur Bob Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright and essayist. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... The color NET logo was incorporated into a model building at the beginning and end of Mister Rogers Neighborhood from 1969 to 1970. ... Year 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. ... James Daly (born October 23, 1918; died July 3, 1978) was an American actor born in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. ... Year 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar). ... Steve McQueen (March 24, 1930 – November 7, 1980) was an Academy Award-nominated American movie actor, nicknamed The King of Cool.[1] He was one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1960s and 1970s due to a popular anti-hero persona. ...

See also

• Henrik Ibsen

Ibsen redirects here. ...

External links

• An Enemy of the People, available at Project Gutenberg.
• An Enemy of the People: Study Guide
• Spark Notes