An Enemy of the People

About the book

Dr Stockmann discovers a problem with the municipal baths that support his town's prosperity and expects his warning to be welcomed. Instead, the costs of acknowledging it unsettle alliances among officials, the press, business interests, and neighbours. Ibsen turns a dispute about evidence into a drama about the practical conditions under which truth is accepted or suppressed. Stockmann's conviction gives him courage, but his manner and expanding claims also invite examination. Family security and public reputation become part of the conflict, preventing the issue from remaining an abstract debate about principle. The play asks what a community owes to inconvenient knowledge and what responsibilities accompany dissent. Its arguments remain dramatic because every position is expressed by someone whose livelihood or authority may be affected.

• Truth and public interest
• Dissent
• Economic dependence

Why read it

For a forceful public argument that also tests the character and judgment of the person insisting on being heard.

R. Farquharson Sharp translation · English text