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= An_Enemy_of_the_People =
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Introduction
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'An Enemy of the People' (original Norwegian title: 'En folkefiende')
is an 1882 play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen that explores the
conflict between personal integrity and societal norms. The play
centers on Dr. Thomas Stockmann, who discovers a serious contamination
issue in his town's new spas, endangering public health. His
courageous decision to expose this truth brings severe backlash from
local leaders, including his brother Peter Stockmann, who is a
powerful political figure in the town.
Set against the backdrop of a community grappling with economic and
environmental concerns, the play highlights the often harsh
consequences faced by those who challenge established systems. Ibsen’s
depiction of this struggle emphasizes the tension between truth and
expediency. The character of Peter Stockmann is based on Ibsen’s own
uncle, Christian Cornelius Paus, whose political influence and
authoritative role in Ibsen's hometown of Skien parallel those of
Peter in the play. Ibsen himself was uncertain about the play's
classification, noting in a letter to his publisher that it contained
both comedic and serious elements, reflecting his complex view of the
protagonist's moral stance. This exploration of moral and societal
conflict follows Ibsen’s earlier work, 'Ghosts', which faced similar
criticism for its bold critique of societal norms.
Act I
=======
Dr. Thomas Stockmann is the medical officer of a recently opened spa
in a small town. The play begins with a dinner party hosted by Dr.
Stockmann and his wife, Katrine. The dinner guests include Dr.
Stockmann's brother Peter (the mayor) and Hovstad (the editor of the
newspaper). Peter asks Stockmann about a rumor that Hovstad is about
to print an article the doctor wrote regarding the spa baths. Dr.
Stockmann is evasive about the nature of this article, and Peter
leaves. Petra, Dr. Stockmann's daughter, brings in a letter containing
laboratory test results confirming Dr. Stockmann's suspicions that the
spa water is contaminated with bacteria, and Hovstad agrees to print
Dr. Stockmann's article, although revealing the truth may force the
baths to shut down, with negative repercussions for the town's
economy. Dr. Stockmann has mixed reactions to these events, but
ultimately rejoices about preventing the harm that the contaminated
water would have caused.
Act II
========
The next morning, Morten Kiil, Dr. Stockmann's father-in-law, stops by
to congratulate him on what Kiil believes is an elaborate prank, since
Kiil thinks the notion that the baths are tainted is too ridiculous to
be believed, especially not by the mayor. Hovstad and the printer
Aslaksen visit to reinforce their commitment to the doctor and extend
their gratitude; the newspaper wants to confront the government of the
town and expose its corruption, and this opportunity is a good start.
Peter arrives and tells Dr. Stockmann that if he selfishly proceeds to
publish this article, he will be partially culpable for the town's
ruin. Peter urges Dr. Stockmann to think of the bigger picture,
retract the article, and solve the problem in a quieter way. Dr.
Stockmann refuses; Peter warns of terrible consequences for his family
and him.
Act III
=========
In the newspaper office, Hovstad and the subeditor, Billing, discuss
the pros and cons of running Dr. Stockmann's article. Dr. Stockmann
arrives and tells them to print the article, but they begin
questioning how valuable it is to expose the government in this way,
concluding that printing this article will do more harm than good,
because of its likely effect on the town's economy. Peter Stockmann
appears with a statement of his own, intended to reassure the public
about the safety of the spa baths, and the newspaper agrees to print
it. Desperate, Dr. Stockmann decides that he does not need the paper
to print anything and that he can fight this battle on his own. He
decides to call a town meeting and spread the information that way.
Although Katrine Stockmann realizes that her husband is risking his
reputation, she stands by him.
Act IV
========
At a town meeting in Captain Horster's house, Dr. Stockmann is about
to read his water report to the townspeople. Billing, the family, the
mayor, Aslaksen, and Hovstad are there. Aslaksen, a respected citizen,
is elected chairman of the meeting. Permission for Dr. Stockmann's
being allowed to speak is about to be voted on, when Dr. Stockmann
says he has a different subject. He then winds up into a passionate
oration about social evolution. He says that new, truthful ideas are
always condemned, due to the "colossal stupidity of the authorities"
and the small-mindedness of "the compact liberal majority" of the
people, who may as well "be exterminated." The audience feels insulted
by these accusations and anger rises. By the end of the meeting, the
audience has rebelled, repeatedly shouting, "He is an enemy of the
people!" Dr. Stockmann tells his father-in-law, Kiil, that his
tannery is what is leaking most of the poisons into the baths. As the
crowd is leaving, voices are heard threatening to break Stockmann's
windows.
Act V
=======
By the next morning, Dr. Stockmann's house, especially his study, has
been badly damaged, for the town has turned against his family and
him. The landlord is evicting them from their house; Petra has been
fired from her job as a schoolteacher for having progressive opinions.
Peter comes to the house with a letter from the board of directors of
the baths that terminates his contract, along with a resolution from
the homeowners' association stating that no one should hire Dr.
Stockmann in this town again.
Dr. Stockmann's father-in-law, Morton Kiil, arrives to say that he has
just bought shares in the baths with the money that he had intended to
leave to his daughter and grandchildren. Kiil expects this will cause
his son-in-law to stop his crusade, to ensure that the spa does not go
bankrupt, and his family will have a secure future. Dr. Stockmann
rebuffs Kiil's threat and also ignores Peter's advice to leave town
for a few months. Katrine tells Dr. Stockmann she is afraid that the
people will drive him out of town. Dr. Stockmann replies, though,
that he intends to stay and make them understand "that considerations
of expediency turn morality and justice upside down." He ends by
proclaiming himself the strongest man in town because he is able to
stand alone.
Characters
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* Doctor Thomas Stockmann, the medical officer at the new Municipal
Baths and the protagonist
* Mrs. Katherine Stockmann, his wife
* Petra, their daughter, a teacher
* Ejlif and Morten, their sons
* Peter Stockmann, Doctor Stockmann's elder brother, is the mayor of
the town, thus Thomas' supervisor. He is based on Christian Cornelius
Paus, Ibsen's uncle.
* Morten Kiil, a tanner (Mrs. Stockmann's father), also known as the
Badger
* Hovstad, editor of 'The Peoples' Messenger', the local paper
* Billing, subeditor
* Captain Horster, a shipmaster going to America and a friend of
Thomas Stockmann's
* Aslaksen, a publisher (also a character in 'The League of Youth')
* Men of various conditions and occupations, a few women, and a troop
of schoolboys - the audience at a public meeting
Cast
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rowspan="2" |Character !Broadway debut !West End debut !1st West End
revival !1st Broadway revival !2nd West End revival !2nd Broadway
revival
!1950 !1988 !1997 !2012 !2024 !2024
!Dr Thomas Stockmann align="center" , |Fredric March
align="center"|Tom Wilkinson align="center"|Ian McKellen
align="center", |Boyd Gaines align="center"|Matt Smith
align="center"|Jeremy Strong
!Mayor Peter Stockmann |align="center" , |Morris Carnovsky
align="center"|David Henry align="center" , |Stephen Moore
align="center" |Richard Thomas align="center" , |Paul Hilton
align="center" , |Michael Imperioli
!Petra Stockmann |align="center" , |Anna Minot Warren
align="center"|Suzan Sylvester align="center" , |Lucy Whybrow
align="center" |Maïté Alina align="center" , |Jessica Brown Findlay
align="center" , |Victoria Pedretti
Themes
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In 'An Enemy of the People', speaking the language of comic
exaggeration through the mouth of his spokesman, the idealist Doctor
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 commandment "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. As
Stockmann states in his excited harangue to his political enemies:
Yet, Ibsen addresses in an engaging manner a number of challenges that
remain highly relevant today, such as environmental issues (versus
economic interests), professional responsibilities (of experts in
policy debates), and the moral dilemmas and tensions involved in
whistle blowing.
Background
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As in any other plays, Ibsen derived names and traits from his
relatives, including the name Stockmann, a real family in Telemark
from which Ibsen himself was descended; Ibsen was also born in
Stockmanngaarden in Skien. Peter Stockmann, who in the Norwegian
original holds the offices of (city judge/magistrate) and (chief of
police), was based on Ibsen's uncle, Christian Cornelius Paus, who
held the same two offices in Skien and who was also a descendant of
the Stockmann family. In Dr. Stockmann's "buttoned-up brother, the
magistrate, who sticks to tea and advocates moderation and respect for
society's laws," the parallel to the magistrate Paus becomes almost
too obvious, writes Ibsen scholar Jon Nygaard.
Reception
======================================================================
The play has gained renewed attention in the aftermath of the COVID-19
pandemic.
Critical reviews
==================
Scottish drama critic William Archer, an early and contemporary
advocate of Ibsen's plays, said the play was less sensational than
some of Ibsen's earlier efforts, but was a strong drama with excellent
dialogue and characters.
1988 West End production
==========================
width="5%"| Year width="30%"| Award width="35%"| Category width="20%"|
Nominee width="10%"| Result
|rowspan=3| rowspan=3|Laurence Olivier Awards Actor of the Year
in a Revival Tom Wilkinson rowspan=3|
|Best Director David Thacker
|colspan=2|Award for Outstanding Achievement
2024 West End production
==========================
width="5%"| Year width="30%"| Award width="35%"| Category width="20%"|
Nominee width="10%"| Result
|rowspan=2| rowspan=2|Laurence Olivier Awards Best Actor in a
Supporting Role Paul Hilton rowspan=2|
|Best Actress in a Supporting Role Priyanga Burford
2024 Broadway production
==========================
width="5%"| Year width="30%"| Award width="35%"| Category width="20%"|
Nominee width="10%"| Result
|rowspan=15| rowspan=5|Tony Awards Best Revival of a Play Amy
Herzog rowspan=5|
|Best Actor in a Play Jeremy Strong
|Best Scenic Design of a Play dots
|Best Costume Design of a Play David Zinn
|Best Lighting Design of a Play Isabella Byrd
|Drama Desk Awards Outstanding Adaptation Amy Herzog
rowspan=4|Drama League Awards colspan=2|Outstanding Revival of a
Play rowspan=4
|Distinguished Performance Jeremy Strong
|Distinguished Performance Caleb Eberhardt
|Outstanding Direction of a Play Sam Gold
|rowspan=2|Outer Critics Circle Awards colspan=2|Outstanding
Revival of a Play rowspan=2
|Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Play Jeremy Strong
|colspan="2"|Theatre World Award Michael Imperioli
Adaptations
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A Nazi adaptation of the play was Hans Steinhoff's 1937 film 'Ein
Volksfeind'.
This classic play was adapted by Arthur Miller in the 1950s in a
production that opened at the Broadhurst Theater on December 28, 1950.
It starred Academy Award winner Fredric March and his wife Florence
Eldridge as well as Morris Carnovsky; future Oscar winner Rod Steiger
was a "townsperson." Miller's 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. The BBC then cast Robert Urquhart as "Tom Stockman" in their
1980 TV version, adapting the story and the cast names to reflect it
now being set in a Scottish town. In the creation of his adaptation of
Ibsen's work, several changes were made by Miller to make the play
more accessible and accepting to a 1950s audience, as opposed to
Ibsen's late 1800s audience. Many major edits not only included the
transformation of speech and language, but changes were made to the
character of Dr. Stockmann to avoid having him champion eugenics.
Throughout the play, Dr. Stockmann acts as a Christ figure. Miller
found it necessary therefore to change Ibsen's use of genetic and
racial theories from the late 1800s to further Dr. Stockmann's
standing as a champion of the lower classes as opposed to a scientist
with a belief in racial determinism and the importance of eugenics for
"improving" people. For example, in Ibsen's original, a portion of Dr.
Stockmann's speech to the people contained:
In Miller's adaptation, no such eugenics-positive screed is read.
Miller keeps Dr. Stockmann's ideals as a character, and his dedication
to facing down the hypocrisy of the aristocracy and governmental
bureaucrats, but portrays him as more of a democratic thinker and
socialist, while retaining some of the original character's ideas
about the evolution of animals and humans, and the need to cultivate
humane qualities in order to bring the masses to a more rational and
educated level, so that they can fully participate in a democracy. In
Miller's adaptation, part of the doctor's speech reads:
A version was produced for Australian television in 1958.
The 1972 Greek film 'O ehthros tou laou' (An Enemy of the People) is
an adaptation of the play, taking place in Greece during the
mid-1930s.
The play was the indirect inspiration for the blockbuster movie
'Jaws'.
Satyajit Ray's 1989 film 'Ganashatru' was based on this play. In 1990,
PBS produced the play for their show 'American Playhouse', starring
William Anton and John Glover.
In 2000 an adaptation of the play called 'Paragon Springs' written by
Steven Dietz premiered at Milwaukee Repertory theatre in Milwaukee
Wisconsin, U.S.A. The play is set in "a small town in the American
Midwest" in 1926.
'An Enemy of the People' (with the subtitle 'The strongest one is the
one who stands alone'), a Norwegian film released in 2004 and directed
by Erik Skjoldbjærg, is an adaptation of Ibsen's play.
In 2007 Ouriel Zohar's troupe Compagnie Ouriel Zohar performed an
adaptation for two actors only of 'An Enemy of the People', performed
first in Paris, then Fréjus, Besançon (2008), Liège, Minsk,
Valleyfield (Canada, 2009), and Porto Heli (Greece, 2010).
In early 2013, a stage adaptation entitled "عدو الشعب" (Arabic: 'Enemy
of the people' or 'A Public Enemy') was organized and directed by Nora
Amin (who played Doctor Stockmann's wife, with Tarek El-Dewiri as
Doctor Stockmann) in Cairo. It was translated into colloquial Arabic
and featured a rock-themed soundtrack played live on-set. Jointly
sponsored by the Norwegian Embassy in Cairo and the Ibsen Studies
Center in Norway, it received various positive reviews at a time when
Egypt was plunged into deep political turmoil.
A new adaptation by Robert Falls, based on a 19th-century translation
by Eleanor Marx, was staged at Chicago's Goodman Theatre from March -
April 2018.
In Autumn 2021, a new National Theatre of Scotland adaptation entitled
simply 'Enemy', authored by Keiran Hurley and directed by Finn den
Hertog, toured Scotland. The play is set in a fictional Scottish town,
is written using contemporary language and makes use of innovative
technical effects such as overhead projected Twitter feeds, social
media comments, and video live streams.
In 2024 at Duke of York's Theatre, Thomas Ostermeier directed an
adaptation he co-wrote with Florian Borchmeyer. It was first staged in
2012, but was translated from German to English by Duncan Macmillan
for the London performance. Starring Matt Smith and Jessica Brown
Findlay, the adaptation converts the Act IV town meeting into an
audience participation event which allows contemporary issues to be
aired.
A new adaptation by Amy Herzog on Broadway at the Circle in the Square
Theatre previewed on February 27, 2024, with an opening night March
18. The production was directed by Sam Gold and starred Jeremy Strong,
Michael Imperioli, and Victoria Pedretti. Strong won the Tony Award
for Best Leading Actor in a Play for his performance.
Censored in Mainland China
======================================================================
'An Enemy of the People', produced by Berlin's Schaubühne theater, was
performed in Beijing from September 6 to September 8, 2018, but the
subsequent touring of the show was cancelled due to its themes. The
audience in Beijing reportedly showed overwhelming support for Dr.
Stockmann, and allegedly shouted criticism of the Chinese regime
during interaction parts. Even in subsequent censored performances,
audiences yelled "for personal freedom!" The regime's censorship
officers would not agree to any more touring unless the script was
doctored in favor of the regime's thought on what a play should be.
External links
======================================================================
* [
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2446 An Enemy of the People at
Project Gutenberg]
*
*
[
http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/EnemyPeople.html#Enemy%20of%20the%20People
'An Enemy of the People': Study Guide]
* [
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/enemyofthepeople/ Spark Notes]
*
*
License
=========
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Original Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Enemy_of_the_People
