Class Systems Theme Analysis

An Enemy of the People describes Dr. Stockmann’s failed attempt to address water contamination in his small town, raising the question of who should have the power to effect or stifle social change. The play critiques the town’s upper class, showing that leaders fail to act on Dr. Stockmann’s findings because doing so would require them to forfeit some of their money and power. But it also casts doubt on ordinary citizens’ ability to govern themselves, painting the townspeople as coarse and brutish and suggesting that they are ill-equipped to consider moral or intellectual dilemmas. Ultimately, Dr. Stockmann argues that power should be concentrated in the hands of the most intelligent men, envisioning an intellectual meritocracy to replace traditional class systems and majority rule—however, the play also shows that his idea is certainly not without its flaws.

Before presenting his findings to the townspeople, Dr. Stockmann takes a hopeful and idealistic view of their character and their ability to address his findings. When Mr. Aslaksen promises him the support of the Small Householders’ Association, he rejoices to have the “compact majority” on his side. Similarly, his choice to publish his discovery in the newspaper shows his desire to appeal to each citizen on a personal level, and his belief that ordinary people can and should have a role in public decision-making. Hovstad praises Dr. Stockmann’s article by saying that, “one need have no special knowledge to understand the bearing of it,” evincing their mutual belief that although the lower classes may not be educated, they are thoughtful and rational readers and voters. Both Dr. Stockmann and his initial allies at the newspaper hope that by engaging the sympathies of the common people, they can circumvent the town’s upper class, which governs through corruption and self-interest.

At the public meeting called by Dr. Stockmann—the only moment when members of the lower class actually appear—the play challenges his previous beliefs by characterizing the townspeople as unintelligent and neither able nor worthy of having a role in public life. The scene begins with rough and drunken men flooding the meeting hall, bragging that they’ve brought whistles and other instruments with which to disrupt the proceedings. None of them seems to know or care what the meeting is about, and they take their political positions from Mr. Aslaksen without considering any of the ideas at hand. During the meeting, they support Peter Stockmann and Mr. Aslaksen, who appeal to their pride and self-interest, rather than Dr. Stockmann, who wants them to consider ideas and ethics. Through moments like this, the play argues that rather than being enlightened citizens, the townspeople are solely considered with validating themselves (just like the selfish upper-class characters).

Dr. Stockmann is so appalled by the contrast between his previous beliefs and his actual reception by the villagers that he condemns them in a long monologue. Not only does he say that majority rule can often lead to political injustice, he criticizes the character and intelligence of the villagers, comparing them to poorly-bred animals and saying that it’s a “social lie” that “the stupid folk should govern the clever ones” or that the majority of people deserve a voice in public life.

Disillusioned with traditional class systems and majority rule, Dr. Stockmann envisions an intellectual meritocracy to replace it. While his ideas suggest a new way forward for a town plagued by political malaise, they also have troubling social implications. Dr. Stockmann argues that, regardless of whether they are born into the upper or lower class, some men are naturally more intelligent than the rest. He believes that these men should be elevated and given power over society while the rest, regardless of their class status at birth, should be denied that power.

While Dr. Stockmann’s belief that people should gain power through merit and intelligence is sympathetic, the language he uses is troubling. He compares the majority of unintelligent people to “cur-men” descended from an “ill-bred strain of animals,” while the intelligent elite are well-bred “poodle-men.” His invocation of breeding contrasts his previous statement that worthy men can arise from any rank, suggesting that certain people are more intelligent precisely because of their breeding. The comparison of people to animals and the belief that they should derive their rights and even humanity from the “breed” belong to has long underpinned racist, eugenicist, and fascist movements (most infamously in the 20th century, after Ibsen’s death, but also during the time of his writing). Dr. Stockmann’s line of thought here seriously undermines his overall belief in a meritocratic society. It’s also notable that Dr. Stockmann’s opinion of the common people changes only when they reject his ideas, and that his ideal society is one that puts men like him—self-proclaimed intellectuals—at the top of the social totem pole. Just like the upper and lower classes whom he derides, Dr. Stockmann wants his society to reflect his own interests first.

An Enemy of the People vacillates between a progressive distrust of the upper class and a conservative skepticism of ordinary people’s ability to govern. While Dr. Stockmann envisions a new class system to replace the two flawed ones dominating his town, it’s unclear if his rather egotistical proposal would actually lead to a more just society, or merely a new form of corruption and oppression.