Enemy of the People (Theatre Classics) [Paperback]

Henrik Ibsen (Author), M. Meyer (Translator)

Book Description

Series: Theatre Classics | Publication Date: January 10, 1974

It’s boom time in the spa town. Investment in the public baths is paying off handsomely. Visitor numbers have never been higher. But one man knows the toxic secret underlying !the town’s newfound wealth. His concern is for the health of the people. So how can he be their enemy?

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Five-act drama by Henrik Ibsen, published in 1882 as En folkefiende and performed in 1883. An Enemy of the People concerns the actions of Doctor Thomas Stockmann, a medical officer charged with inspecting the public baths on which the prosperity of his native town depends. He finds the water to be contaminated. When he refuses to be silenced, he is declared an enemy of the people. Stockmann served as a spokesman for Ibsen, who felt that his plays gave a true, if not always palatable, picture of life and that truth was more important than critical approbation. -- The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature

Language Notes

Text: English, Norwegian (translation)

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Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Methuen Publishing Ltd (January 10, 1974)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0413294706
• ISBN-13: 978-0413294708
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,165,666 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ibsen on the conflict between idealism and practicality, April 24, 2005

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: An Enemy of the People (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)

Henrik Ibsen is the father of modern drama and his 1882 drama "An Enemy of the People" ("En folkefiende") was one of his more controversial works. In the play Dr. Stockmann discovers that the new baths built in his town are infected with a deadly disease that requires they should be closed until they can be repaired. However, the mayor of the town (the Burgomaster), who is Stockmann's brother Peter, rejects the report and refuses to close the baths because it will bring about the financial ruin of the town. When Dr. Stockmann tries to make his case to the people of the town, the mayor counters by pointing out how expensive it would be to repair the baths and dismisses the doctor for having wild, fanciful ideas. At the public meeting Dr. Stockmann is declared "an enemy of the people" by the Burgomaster.

To really appreciate this particular Ibsen play you have to look at it in the context of his previous dramas, because they all represent a conflict between the playwright and his critics. In 1879 Ibsen's play "A Doll's House" ("Et dukkehjem") was produced, wherein the character of Nora pretends to be a silly little wife in order to flatter her husband, who is revealed to be a hypocritical fraud. The idea that a woman would leave her husband and children was seen as being outrageous and basically obscene. Ibsen upset his audience and critics even more in his next play, "Ghosts" ("Gengangere"), an 1881 drama that again attacks conventional morality and hypocrisy. The topic is of congenital venereal disease but the true subject is moral contamination. Mrs. Alving has buried her husband, a degenerate who has left behind a son dying from syphilis and an illegitimate daughter who is probably going to end up being a prostitute. The play ends with Mrs. Alving having to decide if she should poison her son to put him out of his misery or let his agonies persist.

Again, Ibsen was attacked for outraging conventional morality. The following year after "Ghosts" the playwright responded with "An Enemy of the People" and the character that is most identified with representing Ibsen on stage in Dr. Stockmann. The allegory is quite plain when the play is considered within the context of Ibsen's work during this period, although while Stockmann is portrayed as a victim there is a sense of destructiveness to his behavior. At the end of the play Stockman has decided to leave the town, but then changes his mind to stay and fight for those things he believes are right.

As is the case with most of Ibsen's classic works, "An Enemy of the People" speaks to larger issues than those in conflict in the play. The debate is over the bad water pipes at the new baths, but the true conflict is over the clash of private and public morality. Dr. Stockmann is by far the most idealistic of Ibsen's characters, and that fact that he is opposed by his own brother, the Burgomaster, harkens back to Genesis and the fight between Cain and Able. As was the case with "Ghosts," there is an ambiguous ending where what happens next can be seen as going either way given your own inclinations as a member of the audience.

Both of the Stockman brothers are flawed. Dr. Stockman's idealism is at odds with the practical realities of the world in which he lives while the Burgomaster ignores ethical concerns. Ultimately, Ibsen is not forcing us to choose between the two but rather to reject both in terms of some middle ground. The Burgomaster is certainly old school, believing those in authority get to make all the decisions and that the people must subordinate themselves to the society. But he was the one who made the mistake of putting the new water pipes in the wrong place, so even his claims that he is looking out for the welfare of the community are dishonest. Dr. Stockman argues for individual freedom and the right of free expression, but his attempt to fix the problem ignores any effort at persuasion or building public support. He also seems to take pleasure in be able to show that his brother made a mistake. Still, in the end we have to favor the doctor over the mayor because his integrity is clearly stronger, while still recognizing that his idealism is tragically flawed.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Play but the Introduction is Lacking, January 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: An Enemy of the People: A New Version by Christopher Hampton (Faber plays) (Paperback)

This powerful play is my first experience reading Henrik Ibsen and WOW! The conflict is timeless and the leading character Dr. Stockmann reminded me of Sir Thomas More.

After I read the play I did not want to put the book down and wanted more. I flipped to the front of my edition translated by Christpher Hampton and read his nihilistic introduction. Mr. Hampton missed the whole point and somehow thought Dr. Stockman really WAS the "enemy of the people". Hampton sounded like one of the townspeople from the mob in Act Four when he wrote:

"This is to simplify Ibsen's intent; because however sympathetic Ibsen feels towards Dr Stockmann's cause, he is too subtle and profound a dramatist not to know that there are few figures more infuriating than the man who is always right. Stockmann's sincerity, naivety and courage co-exist with an innocent vanity, an inability to compromise and an indifference to the havoc caused in the lives of his family and friends, as well as his own, by his dogged pursuit of principle."

Hampton's edition is a nice size with print that is easy to read. I loved the story and the characters and I highly recommend it to all. I have lived the experience and have been "the enemy" so I understood Dr. Stockmann but I learned from Christopher Hampton and my own experience not everyone will "get it."

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Never Mind that the Water Is Poisoned!", January 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: An Enemy of the People: A New Version by Christopher Hampton (Faber plays) (Paperback)

Well written, and realistic. Thomas is a well-meaning but rather tactless environmentalist. His brother Peter is more concerned about Thomas making a fool out of himself than trying to fix the situation. Just like in real life, there are no easy solutions but there are plenty of alibis and irrational negotiations from politicians ("If you'll just take back what you said..."). The only friend Thomas really has is the reader.