PREVIEW： Chronicles #23 ｜ an Enemy of the People
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Summary
Henrik Ibsen was a Norwegian playwright and philosopher. He is considered to be one of the most influential playwrights of his time, and was deeply controversial at his time. His play An Enemy of the People was written in 1882, and focuses on a small town in southern Norway.
Transcript
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Hello, and welcome to this episode of Chronicles, where today we're going to be talking all about
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An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen, an absolute titan of his age in terms of playwrights,
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and what's more as well, hitherto his coming in the Victorian era, by far and away the most famous
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playwright to come from Norway, or probably since as well. Henrik Ibsen is an incredibly famous writer,
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and a writer that had a profound effect on the world around him. He was deeply controversial
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at his time, and I will openly admit that some of his writing is deeply subversive,
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deeply, deeply subversive. When you take an example of a play such as A Doll's House that I did
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consider covering, but I wanted to start with a play where you can actually see more of the base
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coming through in Ibsen's thinking, so that we didn't simply go into the school curriculum of
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subversion, which A Doll's House is obviously a part of. So An Enemy of the People. Now, this play was
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written in 1882. He wrote it in about nine weeks, and a lot of the structure of the play and its
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critiques and its argumentation is very much Ibsen basically trying to argue back at the critics who
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disliked his previous work, which was Ghosts. And Ibsen was writing at a time in Norwegian history
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when, much like everywhere else in Europe at the time, a lot of social change was going on.
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You had a burgeoning middle class, and with this, with more money, more opportunities,
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you had a also growing sense of what would just be termed self-realization, right? That actually,
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with this money, with this agency, you know, in the modern world, in budding modernity,
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actually individualism, individuality were very, very important. And it was through discovery and
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action as individuals that we are best able to arrive at truth. And this is something that the
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play deals with very, very masterfully. And what's more as well, one of the reasons why it is such a good
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play is the fact that actually Ibsen does a very able job of steel manning both positions in society.
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Before we get into the actual play itself, though, let's just talk a little bit more about Ibsen.
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So he was born in 1828 in the seaport town of Skeen in Norway, and he was actually born into a
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relatively affluent merchant family, right? His father had some merchant ships, and they did very
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well. But his father's business went bankrupt in 36. And at the age of 15, Henrik Ibsen left home.
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And from there, much of his life was just dedicated to a passion for trying to make it in the world of
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theatre. He was incredibly persistent. This is one of the chief qualities that really defines Ibsen
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throughout his life. And what's more as well, for a man who was quite liberal in his political leanings,
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he was also a man who was very conservative when it came to his own life as well. You find many
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photographs of Ibsen impeccably dressed like the quintessential Victorian man. And he was very
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particular about his appearance all the time. What's more, he and his wife lived actually a very
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traditional life. But all the time, what Ibsen was able to do was he was able to put to theatre the
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types of conversations that families were starting to have at the dinner table in late 19th century
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Norwegian society. So I thought An Enemy of the People would be a strong place to start with Ibsen's
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works. And so without further ado, let's get into the story.
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Our story takes place in a coastal town in southern Norway. It is a small community,
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a folk of hardy and genial characters. This play focuses chiefly on just one of the town's many
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families, the Stockmans. Their home is the setting of Act One, where Mrs. Stockman entertains guests
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with her generous warmth. It is a house of reasonable affluence, evoking middle-class comfort. Mr. Billing,
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the sub-editor of the local paper, the People's Messenger, is having some supper. Soon the mayor,
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Peter Stockman, comes to visit his brother, who is absent at present.
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I happen to be passing, and so... But you have company with you, I see.
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Oh no, it was quite by chance he came in. Won't you come in and have something too?
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No, thank you. Good gracious. Hot meat at night. Not with my digestion.
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Oh, but just once in a way. No, no, my dear lady. I stick to my tea and bread and butter. It is much more
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wholesome in the long run, and a little more economical too. Now you mustn't think that Thomas and I are spendthrifts.
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Not you, my dear. I would never think that of you.
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Is he not at home? No, he went out for a little turn after supper, he and the boys.
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I doubt if that was a wise thing to do. I fancy I hear him coming now.
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But it is Mr. Hovstad, the lead editor of the paper. Pete comments on how his brother has recently
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written more articles for The Messenger. Quite so, quite so. I don't blame him in the least,
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as a writer for addressing himself to the quarters where he finds the readiest sympathy.
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And besides that, I personally have no reason to bear any ill will to your paper, Mr. Hovstad.
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Taking one thing with another, there is an excellent spirit of toleration in the town,
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an admirable municipal spirit. And it all springs from the fact of our having a common interest to unite us,
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an interest that is in an equally high degree the concern of every right-minded citizen.
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That common concern is for the new natural baths that have restorative health benefits.
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They are the pride of the town and a testament to the community's unity.
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The bathhouse complex that has been built around the natural springs is set to be a great boon to
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the prosperity of the town. They hope that the summer will bring many visitors. Eventually,
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the man of the house, Dr. Thomas Stockman, returns home from a walk with his young sons,
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Edglyph and Morton, in the company of Captain Horster. He warmly addresses his wife, Catherine,
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before he and his brother speak alone. Thomas shows great gratitude for the prosperity that
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he and his family currently have. He is the town's chief medical officer and a man of science,
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reason and respectability. Though it's obvious that he and his brother Peter do care for one another,
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theirs is a relationship characterised by rivalry, distance and mistrust.
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Their father-in-law is a local tanner, and the children grew up in a poor household.
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Utilising his fierce natural intelligence, Thomas managed to study medicine in the city,
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and then he lived a life of hardship in the isolated tundra of Lapland,
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treating its villagers. It was his idea to create the Baths, as a way of giving something to his
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native town, and applying his knowledge of something that could be contributing to the
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common good. However, Peter has never left the town, and has raised himself up from his lowly birth
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to become the town's mayor and the chairman of the Baths Corporation. When his brother returned,
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it was he that gave his brother the job as medical officer, with its comfortable wage.
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And Peter cares deeply that he receives due credit for it.
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You may have discovered the springs, but I made them possible. Without my influence,
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your little idea would have died in a draw. He is weary of Thomas' extravagance and lack of respect,
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and departs in a foul mood. With his bore of a brother gone, the doctor enjoys the evening in
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the company of his family and friends. Do you sail soon, Captain Horster?
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I suppose you're going to America. Yes, that is the plan.
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Then you won't be able to take part in the coming election. Is there going to be an election?
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Didn't you know? No, I don't mix myself up in those things.
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But do you not take an interest in public affairs?
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No, I don't know anything about politics. All the same, one ought to vote at any rate.
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Even if one doesn't know anything about what's going on?
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A community is like a ship. Everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm.
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Maybe that's all very well on shore, but on board ship, it wouldn't work.
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The stockman's daughter returns home for the evening.
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Her name is Petra, and she is very much her father's child.
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Opinionated, strong-willed, but kindly spoken and warm.
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She gives her father a letter that he's been irritably waiting for,
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and he retreats to his study to read it. When he re-emerges,
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he declares to the others that this letter confirms his suspicions.
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The baths are contaminated with bacteria, poisoned by the leather runoffs from the tannery upstream.
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The doctor is ecstatic to have his suspicions vindicated,
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so that something can be done before they officially open.
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Most modestly, he is glad that he could do his duty to the town by serving the common good.
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Hofstad is only too keen to let the doctor write a piece for the newspaper,
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so that the town may know the truth about the baths. The pipes must be relocated.
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Thank you. Thank you, my dear friend. I feel tremendously happy.
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It is a splendid thing for a man to be able to feel that he has done a service
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to his native town and to his fellow citizens. Hurrah, Catherine!
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Act 2 begins, and Thomas is visited by several guests, each being emphatic supporters of his service.
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Yet, such solidarity is not entirely gifted to the doctor for their care for a truth.
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For some, such as Hofstad, it is ideological. In my opinion, a journalist incurs a heavy responsibility
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if he neglects a favourable opportunity of emancipating the masses, the humble and oppressed.
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I know well enough that in exalted circles I shall be called an agitator, and all that sort of thing, but they
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may call what they like. For the liberal Hofstad, this is a political opportunity to attack the town's
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wealthy investors, and Dr Stockman, being a believer in the liberally-minded youth, finds this an agreeable
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alliance. But soon, he is visited once more by Peter, in his capacity as mayor and chairman.
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Have you taken the trouble to consider what your proposed alterations would cost?
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According to the information I obtained, the expenses would probably mount up to £15,000 to £20,000.
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Would it cost so much? Yes. And the worst part of it would be that the work would take at least two years.
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And what are we to do with the baths in the meantime? Close them. Indeed, we should be obliged to.
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And do you suppose anyone would come near the place after it had got out that the water was dangerous?
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Yes, but Peter, that is what it is. And all this is at this juncture, just as the baths are beginning to be known.
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There are other towns in the neighbourhood with qualifications to attract visitors for bathing purposes.
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Don't you suppose they would immediately strain every nerve to divert the entire stream of strangers to themselves?
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Unquestionably, they would. And then where should we be?
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We should probably have to abandon the whole thing. Which has cost us so much money, and then you would have ruined your native town.
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It is simply and solely through the baths that the town has before it any future worth mentioning.
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You know that just as well as I. But what do you think ought to be done then?
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Your report has not convinced me that the condition of the water at the baths is as bad as you represent it to be.
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Thomas cannot stand the idea of lying to the people about the baths.
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What's more, with the liberal press behind him, as well as the support of Aslikson, the head of the Housing Association,
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he feels he can mount enough pressure against Peter and the board. The compact majority is with him.
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When Thomas accuses Peter of really only caring for his own self-interest and his own position of authority in all of this,
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and not for the common good of the town, Peter retorts,
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And even if that were true, if I perhaps guard my reputation somewhat anxiously, it is in the interests of the town.
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Without moral authority, I am powerless to direct public affairs as seems, to my judgment, to be the best for the common good.
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And on that account, and for various other reasons, it appears to me to be a matter of importance
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that your report should not be delivered to the committee.
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In the interests of the public, you must withhold it.
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Then, later on, I will raise the question, and we will do our best privately.
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But nothing of this unfortunate affair, not a single word of it, must come to the ears of the public.
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I am afraid you will not be able to prevent that now, my dear Peter.
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Peter is astonished at his brother's lack of consideration for his position, and his general indiscretion.
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Up to a certain point, yes. It is painful for a man in an official position
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to have his nearest relative compromising himself time after time.
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Yes, unfortunately you do, without even being aware of it.
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You have a restless, pugnacious, rebellious disposition.
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And then, there is that disastrous propensity of yours to want to write about every sort of
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possible and impossible thing. The moment an idea comes into your head, you must needs go and write a
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newspaper article, or a whole pamphlet about it. Well, but is it not the duty of a citizen to let the
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public share in any new ideas he may have? Oh, the public doesn't require any new ideas.
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The public is best served by the good, old-established ideas it already has.
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Peter practically orders Thomas to publicly refute his own claims.
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But he will not, and the two are at an impasse. If the doctor will not yield, he will be removed
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from his position on the Basque committee. It is I who have the real good of the town at heart.
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I want to lay bare the defects that sooner or later must come to light of day.
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I will show whether I love my native town. You, who in your blind obstinacy want to cut off the most
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important source of the town's welfare. The source is poisoned, man. Are you mad?
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We are making our living by retailing filth and corruption. The whole of our flourishing
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municipal life derives its substance from a lie. All imagination, or something even worse,
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the man who throws out such offensive insinuations about his native town must be an enemy to our
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community. Peter departs, and Dr Stockman is left to reflect on the dilemma with his wife. For her part,
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Catherine pleads with him to show concern for his family. This feud will set her husband against the
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powerful men of the town, and she fears for her family's comfort and standing. But Thomas is unwavering
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in his moral crusade. He will perform this public service. He will present the truth to the town.
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He will go against his brother's wishes. Act 3 takes place in the editor's room of the People's
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Messenger. Hofstad and Billing are in awe at the Doctor's polemical prowess, and are sure that his
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words will rouse the revolution they seek. They are visited by Dr Stockman, who is eager for the article
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to be published. Well, they will get the worst of it with me. They may assure themselves of that.
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I shall consider the People's Messenger my sheet anchor now, and every single day I will bombard them
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with one article after another, like bombshells. Yes, but hurrah, it is war! I shall smite them to the
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ground. I shall crush them. I shall break down all of their defences before the eyes of the honest public.
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That is what I shall do. Yes, but in moderation, Doctor. Proceed with moderation. Not a bit of it.
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Not a bit of it. Don't spare the dynamite. Because it is not merely a question of water supply and drains,
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now you know. No, it is the whole of our social life that we've got to purify and disinfect.
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Spoken like a deliverer. All the incapables must be turned out, you understand. And that, in every
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walk of life, endless vistas have opened themselves to my mind's eye today. I cannot see it all quite
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clearly yet, but I shall in time. Young and vigorous standard bearers. Those are what we need and must
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seek, my friends. We must have new men in command at all our outposts. Hear, hear. We only need to
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stand by one another, and it will all be perfectly easy. The revolution will be launched like a ship
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that runs smoothly off the stocks. Don't you think so? For my part, I think we have now the prospect of
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getting a municipal authority into the hands where it should lie. And if only we proceed with moderation,
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I cannot imagine there will be any risk. Who the devil cares whether there is any risk or not?
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What I am doing, I am doing in the name of truth, and for sake of my conscience. The doctor departs in
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the highest of spirits, and soon the editors are visited by Petra, who has come to turn down some
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translation work, not satisfied with the moral content of the story she was given. You don't
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understand me. The burden of this story is that there is a supernatural power that looks after the
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so-called good people in the world, and makes everything happen for the best in their case,
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while all the so-called bad people are punished. Well, but that is all right. That is what our readers
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want. And are you going to be the ones to give it to them? For myself, I do not believe a word of it.
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You know quite well that things do not happen, so in reality. You are perfectly right, but an editor
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cannot always act as he would prefer. He is often obliged to bow to the wishes of the public in
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unimportant matters. Politics are the most important thing in life, for a newspaper anyway,
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and if I want to carry my public with me on paths that lead to liberty and progress,
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I must not frighten them away. If they find a moral tale of this sort in the serial at the bottom of the
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page, they will be all the more ready to read what is printed above it. The conversation inevitably turns
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towards Petra's father, and Hofstad clumsily reveals that his help is partly motivated by
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wanting to win Petra's affections. Petra is appalled that the purity of her father's course could be
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sullied by Hofstad's selfish motives. She leaves, and they are then visited by the mayor.
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Peter Stockman comes to them and meets their idealism with power and reality. He threatens
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the newspaper with loss of city contracts and subscriptions. He speaks plainly about the
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economic burden that it would put upon the town if the Baths had to be renovated and reconstructed
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to the doctor's wishes. He also politely suggests that there will be official favour for them,
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should they understand his reasoning. He offers them a sharp reality check. If they publish the
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doctor's article, the committee will be compelled to close the Baths for two years, while the necessary
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alterations are made, and the costs will be put on the small business owners that Luxem represents.
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The editors capitulate. But before Peter compresses advantage, his brother returns to ask about the
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article being published. Peter indignantly flees to the other room, but as Dr Stockman converses with
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the editors, it becomes clear to him that their zeal and principle are gone. When Peter confronts him,
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he realises that the struggle for truth will be harder, and possibly even futile.
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It shall be made public all the same. I will read it out at a mass meeting of the townspeople.
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All my fellow citizens shall hear the voice of truth. You will not find any public body in the
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town that will give you the use of their hall for such a purpose. Not a single one, I'm certain.
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No, I'm damned if you will find one. But this is too shameful. Why should everyone turn against you
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like that? I will tell you why. It is because all the men of this town are old women, like you.
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They all think of nothing but their families, and never of the community. Then I will show them that
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an old woman can be a man for once. I'm going to stand by you, Thomas. Bravely said. Bravely said,
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Catherine. It shall be made public, as I am a living soul. If I can't hire a hall, I shall hire a drum,
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and parade the town with it and read it at every street corner. You are surely not such an errant fool
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as that. Yes, I am. It is with these convictions that Act 3 ends and the townsfolk assemble in the
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old-fashioned room at Captain Horster's home at the beginning of Act 4. There are voices from amongst a
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mob. Before them is Mayor Peter Stockman, his brother the Defiant Doctor, and Aslakson, whose voice
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commands great respect from the majority. I beg to support the Mayor's motion. I quite agree with
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him that there is something behind this agitation started by the Doctor. He talks about the Bass,
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but it is a revolution he is aiming at. He wants to get the administration of the town into new hands.
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No one doubts the honesty of the Doctor's intentions. No one will suggest that there can be any two opinions
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as to that. I myself am a believer in self-government for the people, provided it does not fall too
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heavily on the ratepayers. But that would be the case here, and that is why I will see Dr Stockman
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damned, I beg your pardon, before I go with him in the matter. You can pay too dearly for a thing sometimes,
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that is my opinion, against the triumvirate of the Mayor, Hofstad and Aslakson. The Doctor cannot win
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over the townsfolk. Truth may stand with him, but the compact majority does not. Not even permitted to
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read the report of his own evidence, the Doctor takes a different stand. I have already told you that
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what I want to speak about is a great discovery I have made lately. The discovery that all the
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sources of moral life are poisoned, and that the whole fabric of our civic community is founded on
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the perfidious soil of falsehood. If you enjoyed this piece of premium content from the Lotus Eaters,