Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in An Enemy of the People, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Power and Public Opinion
Truth and the Media
Women, Family, and Duty
Individualism vs. Authority
Class Systems
Summary
Analysis
In the morning, Dr. Stockmann examines his study, which has been thrown into disarray by boys breaking the windows at night. He slowly picks up the stones, telling Katherine that he will “treasure” them and one day bequeath them to Morten and Ejlif, so that they will understand their father’s character. Impatiently, he asks if the maid has found the repairman yet, and Mrs. Stockmann replies patiently that she’s still looking for him.
As usual, Dr. Stockmann is more interested in his ideological relationship to his sons than his actual duty to care for them now. It’s also telling that he doesn’t include his daughter, Petra, in this philosophical bequest, given that she’s the member of his family who has embraced his ideas most fully.
Themes
A letter arrives from the landlord, warning the family of its immediate eviction from their house, due to “regard for public opinion.” Dr. Stockmann announces that the family will sail with Captain Horster to the New World, where they can begin another life. It’s intolerable to live here, where the community has repudiated him and even torn his pants. He clarifies that he doesn’t care about the pants, which his wife can always fix, but he’s incensed that “the common herd” would attack him “as if they were [his] equals.”
The landlord’s decision shows how public opinion, when given too much political power, can result in persecution. Dr. Stockmann’s comment about the “common herd” is troubling; as he becomes more alienated from society, his description of others becomes more disdainful and authoritarian, suggesting that the development of his ideas has as much to do with offended pride as the actual character of the public.
Themes
Dr. Stockmann continues that tyranny of the majority is probably prevalent everywhere in the world, and that people are just as loyal to their parties in the New World as in Norway; he dreams of settling his family on a distant island, far from this corruption. When Katherine points out that such a life would not be good for the boys, he asks how she can bear for their sons to live in this society, which is full of “brutes.” Katherine quietly points out that the townspeople’s bad behavior is partly due to the “imprudent” things her husband said.
While Dr. Stockmann can only imagine escaping tyranny by leaving society altogether, Katherine reminds the reader that it’s braver and ultimately more useful to find a way to live one’s ideals within a potentially hostile society.
Themes
As Dr. Stockmann is beginning to respond, Petra enters the house; she’s been fired from her schoolteaching job, as several parents have complained about her. Captain Horster soon follows her in, consoling Dr. Stockmann on the disastrous public meeting and subsequent ruin of his house. Dr. Stockmann says he cannot live where he is considered an enemy, and asks when the captain is planning to sail from Norway. But Captain Horster reveals he has been dismissed from his own ship, in retaliation for lending Dr. Stockmann his house. Petra expresses her sorrow that Captain Horster ever became involved with the family, but he reassures her that he does not regret it, and will soon find another commission.
Petra and Captain Horster have both received public punishments for supporting Dr. Stockmann’s ideas, even though they have done nothing illegal or wrong; this is one way in which tyranny of the majority can actually subvert democratic norms, rather than upholding them. It’s notable Captain Horster continues to be both loyal and apolitical; only by staying away from politics in its current form, the play suggests, can an individual uphold his beliefs and support his friends.
Themes
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A knock on the door is heard, and Peter enters. The others exit, leaving the two brothers to speak privately. Caustically, Dr. Stockmann points out that it’s rather cold in the house today, and advises the mayor to keep his hat on.
This scene parallels the earlier and slightly more congenial discussions between the brothers, showing the final disintegration of their relationship.
Themes
Peter curtly presents Dr. Stockmann with a letter dismissing him from his job on the Baths Committee, which he says is due to negative public opinion of him. Furthermore, he informs Dr. Stockmann that a petition is circulating to ban him from practicing medicine in the town. He advises his brother to leave for a few months, after which—if he publicly recants his findings about the water supply—Peter may be able to shift public opinion and get his job back.
Threatening his brother with the end of his medical practice, Peter is using majoritarian rule for his own gain. And by hinting at his own ability to shift the town’s mindset, he’s basically admitting that public opinion doesn’t represent any fundamental principles, but rather develops from a combination of self-interest and propaganda.
Themes
Dr. Stockmann says he will never be party to “foxy tricks” like this. Peter says that he has no right to disregard his family and their needs, but Dr. Stockmann responds that the only thing “a free man has no right to do” is to “soil himself with filth.”
Both brothers are mistaken about the relationship of politics and family life: as Petra and Katherine show, women can and want to participate in activism, but Dr. Stockmann’s obliviousness to the family’s needs suggests that fidelity to one’s beliefs does not excuse one from obligations.
Themes
Peter says that Dr. Stockmann is only able to be so stubborn because Morten Kiil will leave money to Katherine and the children, taking up Dr. Stockmann’s duty as provider. In fact, Dr. Stockmann had known nothing about Morten’s plans for his will, but he rejoices to think that is family will be cared for in the future. When Peter warns him not to make plans on a will that could easily change, Dr. Stockmann replies that Morten has always been amused by his troublemaking and will never disinherit him now. Peter explodes in outrage, declaring his belief that Dr. Stockmann has caused a town conflagration simply to ingratiate himself with Morten. Although the doctor denies this, the mayor stalks out of the house.
This passage shows the positive side of Dr. Stockmann’s character. While most characters assess those around them in terms of their social position and the advantages they can confer, Dr. Stockmann is genuinely unaware of his position as Morten’s beneficiary and has never tried to flatter his father-in-law. However, his trusting attitude towards Morten will soon prove naïve.
Themes
As Dr. Stockmann shouts curses after his brother, Petra quietly announces that Morten Kiil himself has arrived to speak with him. Morten sits down in the drafty study and congratulates Dr. Stockmann on the state of his conscience. Tapping his own chest, he asks his son-in-law what he thinks is inside. Dr. Stockmann replies that he hopes “a good conscience” lies beneath his clothes, but Morten says he has “something better” and produces an envelope full of stocks in the baths.
Morten’s straightforward self-interest – shown here through his outright statement that money is more important than one’s good conscience – is both comic and distasteful. But in fact, he just expresses the principles according to which most of the townspeople live.
Themes
Dr. Stockmann is astonished that Morten Kiil has invested in an institution with such an uncertain future, but his father-in-law says that he needs to defend the reputation of his tannery, which has belonged to his family for generations. He knows that people call him a “badger,” but he intends to “live and die a clean man,” not an animal. He reveals that he has bought the stocks with the money he planned to leave his daughter. If Dr. Stockmann retracts his findings and saves the baths, the family will become rich, but if he sticks to his ideas, they’ll be impoverished. Sticking to his principles under these conditions, says Morten, is equivalent to flaying his family alive.
It’s interesting that Dr. Morten compares himself favorably to animals, just as does Dr. Stockmann. Morten’s bald-faced obsession with money and status is obviously unsympathetic, but both men are similar in that their moral beliefs are intertwined with their personal pride, making them willing to advance those beliefs even when doing so involves harm or destruction for others.
Themes
Dr. Stockmann is furious with Morten Kiil but also uneasy about losing all this money just as he has lost his job. He wonders aloud if he really is totally certain of his ideas, or if it would be possible for him to treat the water without repairs to the baths. Morten advises him to try “rat’s-bane,” and at this ridiculous suggestion Dr. Stockmann turns on him, saying that he’s the one to harm the family irrevocably. Undaunted, Morten says he must give an answer by the afternoon, and leaves abruptly.
This is Dr. Stockmann’s moment of greatest temptation and despair – and, admirably, he doesn’t take the bait. Even though it’s clear that Dr. Stockmann cares more than he admits about his reputation and status in the eyes of others, he’s ultimately able to put that aside to pursue his principles.
Themes
Just after his departure, Hovstad and Aslaksen present themselves. Dr. Stockmann is astounded they can face him after their behavior last night, but the two men are completely calm; they ask Dr. Stockmann why he never let them in on his plan. Seeing the doctor completely baffled, the two men explain their belief that he and Morten Kiil have concocted the water contamination as a means to buy up cheap stock in the baths. Now that they presume him to be a rich man, they offer to use the People’s Messenger to rehabilitate his reputation.
Here, the two newspapermen openly admit that the People’s Messenger’s coverage aims not to convey truth but to manipulate public opinion in order to enrich its editors. The editors’ open demeanor and lack of shame betrays their bizarre opinion that this is a right or honorable course of behavior for journalists to adopt.
Themes
Dr. Stockmann plays along, encouraging them to sketch out a plan of using the newspaper and the Householders’ Society to return him to power and restore confidence in the baths—in exchange, of course, for the doctor’s financial support. Sarcastically, he asks what they will do if, in the end, he refuses to give them the money; Hovstad threatens that they could use the newspaper to expose him for his supposed trick with the stocks. He says that these actions are justified by the fact that “every animal must fight for its own livelihood.”
Dr. Stockmann’s sarcastic “collusion” emphasizes the extent to which the newspaper is a political tool. Hovstad’s blunt assertion that the newspaper is just his “livelihood” and means to advance himself in the world gives the lie to his earlier more idealistic statements about the nobility of the publication’s cause and his own sense of ethical responsibility as a journalist.
Themes
Dr. Stockmann takes up his walking stick, trying to beat the men and show them that he is “the strongest animal.” He tries to force them out through the broken windows, but as Katherine bursts in and restrains him, the two men escape through the living room.
Through this display of violence, Dr. Stockmann stoops to join Hovstad and Mr. Aslaksen in this struggle for “strength,” both physical and political.
Themes
Calming down, Dr. Stockmann gives Petra a note for Morten Kiil, relaying his refusal of the offer. He turns to his wife and tells her that instead of fleeing the town, they’re going to stay in the town and fight for their ideas. Captain Horster offers them the use of his house, since he’s rarely at home. Even though most of the townspeople will no longer patronize his practice, the doctor will minister to the poor and share his ideas with them. Katherine reminds him that preaching has done him little good so far, but he says that the “compact majority” will never defeat him.
It’s notable that even though Katherine herself earlier protested her husband’s desire to leave town, he now presents the brave decision to stay as his own idea. Even though she now has to take a more active role in keeping the family afloat and supporting her husband’s beliefs, she’s denied any acknowledgment for her efforts.
Themes
Suddenly full of optimism, Dr. Stockmann draws Katherine over to the window and gestures at the lovely weather outside. When she says that the family can’t live on “sunshine and spring air,” he responds that he’s not concerned about their welfare; she’ll have to “pinch and save a bit,” but they will manage. Rather, he’s concerned about the fact that there’s no one “high-minded enough” to continue his work when he’s gone.
Just as he considers his future relationship with his children rather than their current needs, Dr. Stockmann ignores the family’s actual circumstances to meditate on his future and legacy.
Themes
Interrupting this conversation, Morten and Ejlif arrive early from school. Other boys had been picking on them, and the teacher advised them to stay home for a few days. Dr. Stockmann impetuously decides to educate them himself. He tells them to recruit as many street urchins as they know in order to start a school, in which he will spread his own unconventional principles with Petra’s help. Eventually, they’ll grow up into men who can “drive all the wolves out of the country.”
As her father’s assistant, Petra is able to take a more active role in political life and inhabit the center of his incipient movement. At the same time, she’s again relegated to relaying someone else’s ideas (as she did while a schoolteacher) rather than developing or sharing her own.
Themes
Doubtfully, Katherine says that she hopes the wolves won’t drive her husband away, but Dr. Stockmann jubilantly responds that he is the most powerful man in the town. Gathering the family around him, he dramatically explains that “the strongest man in the world is he who stands alone.” Katherine smiles in admiration of her husband, and Petra grasps her father’s hand as the curtain closes.
Dr. Stockmann’s jubilant declaration reflects the play’s emphasis on individual rights and the importance of clinging to one’s beliefs despite social pressure. At the same time, the presence of Dr. Stockmann’s family, and his obvious reliance on them for moral support, suggests an inherent human dependence on others.
Themes
