An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen – Complete Analysis
SUMMARY
Dr. Stockmann has discovered that the new baths built in his town are infected with a deadly disease and instructs the town to repair or close the baths. The Mayor, who is Dr. Stockmann’s brother, does not believe the report and refuses to close the baths because it will cause the financial ruin of the town.
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Dr. Stockmann tries to take his case to the people, but the mayor intercedes and explains to the people how much it will cost to repair the baths. He explains that the Doctor is always filled with wild, fanciful ideas. In a public meeting, he has his brother declared an enemy of the people. The doctor decides to leave the town, but at the last minute comes to the realization that he must stay and fight for the things he believes to be right.
Character List
Dr. Thomas Stockmann, Medical Officer of the Municipal Baths.
Mrs. Stockmann, His wife.
Petra, Their daughter, a teacher.
Ejlif and Morten, Their sons, aged 13 and 10, respectively.
Peter Stockmann, The Doctor’s elder brother and Mayor of the Town and Chief Constable, Chairman of the Baths’ Committee.
Morten Kiil, A tanner and Mrs. Stockmann’s adoptive father.
Hovstad, Editor of the “People’s Messenger.”
Billing Sub, editor of the “People’s Messenger.”
Captain Horster, An old friend of Dr. Stockmann.
Aslaksen, A printer.
Summary and Analysis Act I
In the home of Dr. Stockmann, Mrs. Stockmann is offering Mr. Billings, an assistant on the local paper, some more food. She thinks she hears the editor, Mr. Hovstad coming, but it is her brother-in-law, the Mayor (or Burgomaster). He is somewhat shocked to see that the Stockmanns have meat for supper. Mr. Hovstad appears and tells the Burgomaster that he is here on business. Dr. Stockmann often writes an article for Mr. Hovstad’s liberal paper.
The present article Dr. Stockmann is having printed is about the medicinal value of the new baths which are soon to open up in the town. The Burgomaster speaks about the great value of the baths to the town, but he resents the idea that his brother is credited with being the founder of the baths because he himself was responsible for the execution of the plan.
Dr. Stockmann comes in bringing with him another guest, an old friend named Captain Horster. He greets his brother and explains how great it is now to have a job where he can afford to eat meat twice a day and to buy little items. For many years, he has had to live on almost starvation wages, but now that the Burgomaster has gotten him a position with the baths, he is always in good spirits.
The Burgomaster wants to know about the new article Dr. Stockmann is publishing, but Dr. Stockmann tells him it isn’t to appear until he checks on a few more facts. The Burgomaster knows that the article is about the baths and demands to be told immediately all about it. When Dr. Stockmann refuses, the Burgomaster leaves in anger.
Hovstad comes in and intimates that the Burgomaster left because the crowd was too liberal for him. There is a town election coming soon and Hovstad’s liberal paper has not been supporting the Burgomaster. Petra Stockmann comes in from the school where she teaches and tells her father that she has a letter for him. Dr. Stockmann becomes excited and goes immediately to his study to read the letter. His wife explains to the guests that Dr. Stockmann has been waiting every day for a week for some mysterious letter.
Petra tells the group how difficult it is to teach when the little children have to be told so many things that are not true. She would like to open a school of her own. Captain Horster offers her the bottom of his old house which stands empty most of the time, especially since he is about to sail for America.
Hovstad thinks she would do better to come over to journalism and asks her if she has finished the translation of the English novel. She promises to have it completed in a short time.
Dr. Stockmann comes back in and is excited about the news he has just received. He thinks he has made a great discovery. He tells them that he has found out that their magnificent, lovely, highly praised baths are nothing more than a poisonous, pestiferous hole. He explains that the pipes are laid too low and all the filth from the tanning mills is infecting the water. He has spent the entire winter investigating the affair and has sent off samples of the water to the university for analysis.
The water contains millions of putrefying organic matter called infusoria. These are detrimental to health whether they are used internally or externally. He explains that this was why so many people were sick last summer at the baths. At the time he thought the people brought the disease with them, but now he knows that they became sick from the water. To correct the situation, all of the water pipes will have to be re-laid.
Dr. Stockmann explains that the town has often laughed at his ideas and proposals, but now everyone will see that he is not out of his head. He particularly wants Petra to tell her grandfather who has thought Dr.
Stockmann was “not quite right.” Furthermore, he has prepared a statement for the directors of the baths and is going to send it to the Burgomaster immediately. Hovstad wants to put a short announcement of the discovery in the paper, and it is suggested that the town should do something to honor Dr. Stockmann. Dr. Stockmann thinks, however, that it is a blessing to have served his native town and its citizens.
Analysis
The first act is concerned with providing background information and other matters of exposition. We are not far enough in the play yet to draw definite character personalities. The exposition (i.e., the handling of background material) provides us with the knowledge that Dr. Stockmann has often been on the verge of extreme poverty, that his brother the Burgomaster has obtained a nice post for him with the new baths in the town, that the idea of the baths were originally Dr. Stockmann’s, but the Burgomaster took over and directed the building of the baths along lines which Dr. Stockmann did not approve of. Furthermore, we find out that the two brothers have very little in common.
The Burgomaster adheres to old and traditional views and Dr. Stockmann is a man of modern and liberal views. At this point, it is suggested that Hovstad is in agreement with Dr. Stockmann and opposed to the Burgomaster, but this will later be dramatically reversed.
There are also enough hints in this first act to indicate that Dr. Stockmann is an impulsive man. He writes articles for the newspaper on any new idea he has. He does things impetuously and without consultation. He has had many “crackbrained notions” in the past, and has refused to consult the proper authorities.
Dr. Stockmann is also somewhat naive in thinking that the community will be proud of him for discovering that the baths are poisonous. He fails to realize that as important as the discovery is, it is one which will cause an immense amount of expense and inconvenience.
Furthermore, there seems to be some ambiguity in his motivations. We know that he was annoyed at the Burgomaster for refusing to lay the pipes where Dr. Stockmann wanted them. Now that he has found out that the pipes are causing the baths to be poisonous, there is a hint of personal satisfaction in proving the Burgomaster wrong. In fact, his happiness can derive directly from his vindication against the Burgomaster who refused to follow Dr. Stockmann’s specification for building the baths.
In the statement that Dr. Stockmann has prepared, the reader must inquire whether this statement is an explanation or an accusation. Dr. Stockmann is somewhat naive and innocent when he thinks that the Burgomaster will be pleased at this discovery.
The act ends on a note of irony. Dr. Stockmann thinks that he is going to be honored as a hero and feels good that he served his town and fellow citizens well. It will be only a short time before he will be declared an enemy of the people.
At the end of the first act, the problem has not yet been fully presented. Now it is only that the baths are unsanitary and the conditions of the baths must be changed or altered.
Summary and Analysis Act II
Dr. Stockmann has his manuscript returned to him with a note from the Burgomaster that they should meet at noontime. Mrs. Stockmann suggests that perhaps he should share the honor with his brother. Dr. Stockmann is willing to share the honor if he can get the thing straightened out.
Old Morton Kiil, the man who adopted and raised Mrs. Stockmann, drops by to inquire if the news is correct. He thinks it is a good trick to play on the Burgomaster. Dr. Stockmann doesn’t understand.
Morton Kiil asks if these poisonous animals are invisible and then says that the Burgomaster will never fall for such a story as that. But he is angry with the Burgomaster and the town council and hopes that his son-in-law will make them all “eat humble pie.” When Hovstad drops by, Morton Kiil wonders if Hovstad is also involved. Now he is convinced that Stockmann and Hovstad are in some conspiracy to make the Burgomaster look foolish.
When old Morton Kiil leaves, Dr. Stockmann is astounded at the possibility that people won’t believe him. Hovstad points out that a good many other things are involved aside from the medical aspect. He suggests that the poison comes not just from the tanning mills, but also from the poisonous life that the entire community is living. The “town has gradually drifted into the hands of a pack of bureaucrats,” and that is why the pipes were laid in the wrong place to begin with.
The leaders of the town show no foresight and no ability. He wants to take up the matter in the paper and use the case of the baths to clear the town council of all the “obstinate old blockheads” who are holding progress back. This is their chance to “emancipate the downtrodden masses.”
Aslaksen, the printer, appears and offers his support to Dr. Stockmann. He is the head of the “compact majority in the town” and is sure the compact majority will stand behind Dr. Stockmann. He is thinking of some type of demonstration if one could be held with moderation. Dr. Stockmann explains that he needs no support because the issues are so clear and self-evident. But Aslaksen reminds him that the authorities always move slowly.
After Aslaksen leaves, Hovstad insists that “this gross, inexcusable blunder of the water-works must be brought home clearly to every voter.” Dr. Stockmann asks him to wait until he can consult with his brother. After Hovstad leaves, Dr. Stockmann tells his family how good it feels to be able to do something good for his town.
The Burgomaster comes in to discuss the baths with Dr. Stockmann. He asks Dr. Stockmann if he checked to see how much new pipes would cost and how long it would take. They would cost around sixty thousand dollars and would take two years to relay. In the meantime, the baths would have to be closed down and after word got around that they were poisonous, no one would ever come to them anymore and the town would be literally bankrupt. He tells Dr. Stockmann that his report will literally ruin the town and that Dr. Stockmann will be responsible for the total destruction of his own town. Dr. Stockmann is shocked, but says that the baths are still contaminated and something must be done. The Burgomaster, however, is not convinced that the condition is as serious as Dr. Stockmann says it is. He accuses his brother of exaggerating greatly, and suggests that a competent physician should be able to do something to rectify the situation.
But Dr. Stockmann asserts that anything short of relaying the pipes would be dishonest: It would be “a fraud, a lie, an absolute crime against the public, against society as a whole.” He believes it is just stubbornness and fear of blame that keeps the Burgomaster from recognizing the disastrous state of the baths. Dr. Stockmann reminds the Burgomaster that the plan of the baths was “bungled” by the authorities, and now these same people cannot admit they were wrong. The Burgomaster reminds Dr. Stockmann that as an individual he has no right to an individual opinion and must always rely on the authorities. He therefore forbids Dr. Stockmann to turn in his report or to meddle any further in the affairs of the baths.
Furthermore, he demands that Dr. Stockmann obey him. But the doctor says he will take his case to the papers and will write against the Burgomaster: He will prove that the “source is poisoned” and that the people “live by trafficking in filth and corruption. The whole of our flourishing social life is rooted in a lie.”
The Burgomaster warns Dr. Stockmann that such “offensive insinuations against his native place” will brand him as an enemy of society. After the Burgomaster leaves, Dr. Stockmann is proud to know that he has the independent press and the compact majority behind him. He is determined to carry out his plan. Mrs. Stockmann reminds him that he has a family to look after and they might suffer dire consequences.
Dr. Stockmann, however, feels that he must stand by his principles or he would never “have the right to look my boys in the face.”
Analysis
Act I only presented the need of the baths to be cleansed. Act II begins to develop the problem with more implications. We are now able to see that the play is going to handle the broad subject of private vs. public morality. Or as the problem will later be developed, the conflict between personal integrity and social obligation. This idea will be more fully developed in later acts.
This act presents our first hint of the public’s refusal to believe Stockmann. It comes from Stockmann’s father-in-law. He believes that Dr. Stockmann is slyly trying to avenge himself against his brother by making the Burgomaster and the entire town council admit that they made a tremendous mistake. If Dr. Stockmann can do that, old Morton Kiil will be happy because they had previously forced him off the town council.
With the appearance of Hovstad, we see the liberal who is ready to jump at any cause and champion that cause as long as he thinks the cause will be popular and will increase circulation.
With Aslaksen, we see the man of cautious good will. He wants to do everything with moderation and not offend anyone. He represents the “compact majority” — that group of people who have no opinions and who follow others like a herd of animals.
When the Burgomaster appears, Dr. Stockmann is shocked to find out that his proposal will cost so much and will take so long to effect. The Burgomaster then is seen as a practical man who believes that the men in authority should decide everything. His view is that the individual freedom should be subjected to the demands of the authorities. This is, of course, a legitimate view, but Ibsen does not leave it a clash between two opposing ideological views.
The Burgomaster’s views must be seen in terms of his personal involvement. If the news of the baths is made public, he as the authority will be seen to have made a mistake. This will be a personal slight. But also, if the news of the baths is made public, the town will suffer tremendous losses and will be virtually destroyed; thus, his duty as the chief magistrate of the town is to try to save the town. Thus as was Dr. Stockmann’s discovery tainted by his desire to avenge himself against the authorities, so now is the Burgomaster’s defense somewhat tinged with personal motives.
Dr. Stockmann is still seen as somewhat the impractical visionary. He can see nothing except that the baths are dangerous and poisonous. It may be suggested that he is so confident in his views since he knows (or thinks) that the press and the compact majority are behind him. And under all circumstances, he is a man who does believe strongly in personal freedom and will not submit blindly to the rule of the authorities.
Mrs. Stockmann is seen in this scene as the eternal matriarch; that is, she is the eternal mother and wife figure whose main concern is with the personal welfare of her immediate family.
At the end of the act, we find that perhaps the town will consider Dr. Stockmann an enemy of the society. This is, of course, ironic because Dr. Stockmann thought he was doing a great service to the community. It is his desire to serve his fellow man that hurts more than anything else. Unlike the Burgomaster who believes that the people are like a herd and not worthy of consideration, Dr. Stockmann here believes in the potential capabilities of all the people and counts strongly on the general public to see his point of view.
Summary and Analysis Act III
In the editor’s room of the “People’s Messenger,” Hovstad and his assistant, Billing, are discussing Dr. Stockmann’s article. They feel that now the Burgomaster is in trouble and they will use this trouble to hound him out of office. They hope to replace him with men of more “liberal ideas.”
Dr. Stockmann arrives and tells the men to go ahead with the publication of his article. They call Aslaksen who wants to know if the article will offend people. He is assured that all intelligent and prudent men will support the article. Dr. Stockmann believes that his article will send all the old bunglers packing, and the town will have a new regime. Aslaksen insists that they proceed with moderation. He explains that he has learned caution when attacking local authorities. If it is a subject of attacking the national government, he is not timid, but with local authorities, one must proceed with caution. Billing maintains that Dr. Stockmann will be declared “a Friend of the People.”
After Dr. Stockmann and Aslaksen leave, Hovstad wishes that they could get some financial backing from someone else so that they wouldn’t have to rely on Aslaksen. They think about old Morton Kiil who is bound to have some money and the money will go to Dr. Stockmann’s family.
At this time, Petra comes in to explain that she refuses to translate a certain English novel because it does not conform with Hovstad’s liberal ideas. The novel is unrealistic and false to life. Hovstad explains that the paper must print something to attract the attention of the reader so as to trap him into reading the more important liberal ideas. Petra feels this is not honorable and is somewhat disgusted. In further discussions, Petra sees that Hovstad is “not the man” he pretended to be, and she tells him that she will never trust him again.
As Petra leaves, Aslaksen comes in to tell Hovstad that the Burgomaster is in the printing office. After some small talk, the Burgomaster sees Dr. Stockmann’s article. He wants to know if the paper is going to print and support Dr. Stockmann’s position. He inquires about the compact majority and pretends to be surprised that so many of the “poorer class appear to be so heroically eager to make sacrifices.” Aslaksen and Hovstad are confused.
The Burgomaster explains that it will require this huge sum of money, which will have to come from the town, and the project will take two years to complete. In the meantime, other towns will take over the business and when the news reaches other places, no one will ever come to their town. Hovstad and Aslaksen now see that Dr. Stockmann was not informed of all the facts. The Burgomaster explains that he is not convinced that there is anything wrong with the water supply. He has brought with him a short statement of what should be done about the baths and wonders if the paper will care to print it.
Just as Hovstad is accepting the paper, they see Dr. Stockmann approaching. The Burgomaster hides in the next room. Dr. Stockmann asks if the first proofs on his article are ready. He is told it will be quite some time. He warns his friends not to get up any type of testimonial for him because it would be too embarrassing. Mrs. Stockmann comes in and warns her husband of the trouble he is getting the entire family into. At this time, Dr. Stockmann notices the Burgomaster’s hat and cane. He routs his brother out of hiding and tells him that the power has now changed hands. But Aslaksen and Hovstad take the Burgomaster’s side. Both explain that Dr. Stockmann’s plan will ruin the town. Dr. Stockmann refuses to budge from his position. He maintains that the truth cannot be killed by a “conspiracy of silence.” He promises that his report will be made public in spite of all threats. As the men turn against Dr. Stockmann, his wife comes to his side and promises to stand by him always. He is told he can have no hall to speak in and no society will listen to him. He threatens to stand on the street corner and read his paper to the people.
Analysis
Act III is the changing point in the drama. Here we see the various motives of the characters examined under pressures and thus we find out who are the real men of principles. At the first of the act when Aslaksen and Hovstad think that the doctor’s discovery will be popular and beneficial and when they think it will provide an opportunity to get rid of the old authorities, they are supporting him. Later when they realize that it will be harmful to the town and therefore unpopular, they turn against the doctor. Aslaksen is a man who does not wish to offend anyone and who wants to proceed with moderation. But more important, when his principles are confronted with the possibility that he will lose financially, the principles are no longer important.
With Hovstad, we see in his discussion with Petra, that he is not a man of true principles. He publishes not what he believes in but what he thinks will increase circulation. Thus his allegiance to Dr. Stockmann stems not from a belief in the truth of Dr. Stockmann’s ideas, but from the hope that his cause will be a popular one and thus increase circulation.
With the appearance of the Burgomaster, the theme of personal integrity and social obligation becomes dominant. The Burgomaster is attempting to save the town, but in doing so, he is also trying to preserve his image as the town’s foremost citizen. If the report is made public, it will destroy both the town and the Burgomaster’s reputation because he was responsible for the construction of the water pipes which cause all the trouble. Thus for the benefit of the town and his own personal integrity, he refuses to believe the truth of Dr. Stockmann’s report and hints that the doctor has always been impetuous and wild in his ideas. Dr. Stockmann is now seen as the impractical idealist. In striving to achieve the ideal or the perfectly moral solution, he ignores all practical advice and opposes everyone who would stand in his way. In other words, he is ready to carry his idealism to absurd degrees.
Mrs. Stockmann is somewhat comic in these scenes. She is opposed to her husband’s plans until the people turn against him. Then she is ready to stand by him simply because he is her husband. She doesn’t understand what is at stake here, but is nevertheless convinced that her husband is right even though a few moments earlier she was trying to get him to change.
Summary and Analysis Act IV
In the large bottom room of Captain Horster’s house, there is to be a meeting. It is heard that Dr. Stockmann was unable to find another meeting place and his old friend offered him this place. The citizens gathering are wondering what they should do. They decide to watch Aslaksen and do as he does. Dr. Stockmann and his family arrive and the Burgomaster comes in from another direction. Hovstad and Billing are also there.
Before Dr. Stockmann can start his speech, the Burgomaster and Aslaksen insist that a chairman be elected. Dr. Stockmann points out that it is unnecessary since he only wants to give a lecture. But a chairman is elected. It is Aslaksen. Then the Burgomaster moves that the meeting decline to hear the lecture on the subject of the baths. After more speeches and confusion, Dr. Stockmann tells the audience that he does not wish to speak on the subject of the baths but on something entirely different. He is allowed to begin.
The theme of Dr. Stockmann’s speech is that the “sources of our spiritual life are poisoned, and that our whole society rests upon a pestilential basis of falsehood.” He then attacks the leading men who act like goats and do harm at every point. They block the path of a free man and are filled with prejudices. But more dangerous is the compact majority. The country should be run by the intelligent men and since the majority is made up of fools, it should have no right to a voice in the government. He proves that with animals only the thoroughbreds are worth anything. The same should be true with people. The herd of men are no better than curs, and should be kept in that position.
At this point the crowd begins to revolt. A motion is made to declare Dr. Stockmann an enemy of the people. The motion is passed with only one person voting against it. Old Morton Kiil comes to Stockmann and wonders if the poison comes from his tannery as well as the others. Dr. Stockmann tells him that the Morton Kiil Tannery is one of the worst and will have to be improved immediately. Old Morton Kiil tells Stockmann that such an accusation may cost the Stockmann family a lot of money.
Dr. Stockmann asks Captain Horster if he has room on his ship for the Stockmanns to sail with him to America. Captain Horster tells him that he will make room.
Analysis
The act opens with Stockmann still convinced that he is working for the sake of the people. Thinking that he will now become the champion of the people, he obtains a hall in order to give a lecture. Thus, this act pits the idealist against the common herd of people, the people whom Stockmann wants to serve.
Apparently, Stockmann wanted to give his speech about the baths. But the democratic principles of electing a chairman for the committee and then entertaining a motion as to whether Dr. Stockmann should be heard changed the nature of the speech. He therefore delivers a tirade against the democratic processes and attempts to prove that the common man has no business having a voice in the government. He is, of course, still the idealist, but here the idealist is trapped in the involved processes of bureaucracy. He sees his idealism being defeated by the very people he wanted to help: Thus, he attacks the people and the officials elected by the officials.
The reader must realize that Stockmann’s speech is offensive. But he remains a sympathetic character because the purpose of his speech is noble. He is striving to realize his ideals without compromising his principles. Everyone else at the meeting has in one way or another compromised himself — has sold out for personal gain or to avoid a difficult conflict. But in his attack, we must step back and realize that Dr. Stockmann has carried idealism to its extreme.
The question arises then: Is Dr. Stockmann an enemy of the people? If we were to isolate Dr. Stockmann’s speech, that is, take it out of the context of all that went before, and if we were to hear only what the audience at Dr. Stockmann’s speech heard, then we would see that Dr. Stockmann’s present position is one that justifies his being called an enemy of the people. He has openly advocated that the people are not capable of voting correctly. He has insulted the common people and has referred to them in terms of a herd of animals. Thus, by this speech alone, Dr. Stockmann is an enemy of the people. But actually, we know that his attack is motivated by more noble reasons and only in his disillusionment does he make such heavy charges against the very people he wants to help.
Summary and Analysis Act V
Dr. Stockmann’s home is in disorder. He appears holding a stone which someone cast through his window. He wants to save it as a reminder of his days of persecution. He receives a letter from the landlord giving him notice to move. Petra arrives from the school and tells her family that she has been dismissed. All of this is because the people are afraid to go against the popular opinion. Captain Horster comes in and tells them that he has lost his ship because the owner is afraid of popular opinion. Next the Burgomaster arrives and hands Dr. Stockmann his dismissal from the baths. The Burgomaster tells Dr.
Stockmann that a circular is being sent around advising people not to engage Dr. Stockmann. He suggests to Dr. Stockmann that he could be reinstated in a couple of months if he would write a document saying that all of his ideas about the baths were false. But Dr. Stockmann refuses.
The Burgomaster accuses Doctor Stockmann of acting so highly because he knows of old Morton Kiil’s will. But Dr. Stockmann knows nothing. The Burgomaster tells him that old Morton Kiil is wealthy and is leaving a large portion of his fortune to Dr. Stockmann’s children and that he and Mrs. Stockmann are to have the “life-interest” on it. Dr. Stockmann is tremendously relieved to know that his wife and children are taken care of. The Burgomaster accuses Dr. Stockmann of creating all the trouble simply because Old Morton Kiil has a quarrel with the town council. Dr. Stockmann is almost speechless and calls his wife to scrub the floor where the Burgomaster walked out.
Shortly, Old Morton Kiil comes to call upon Dr. Stockmann. He explains that he has been out buying up shares of the baths with the money which he was to leave Mrs. Stockmann and the children. He feels that his tannery is the cause of the foulness in the water and he wants Stockmann to clear the Morton Kiil name.
Thus, if Dr. Stockmann continues in his insistence upon the destructive element involved in the baths, then he is cutting off his own family from a large inheritance. Dr. Stockmann is stunned, and says he will talk to his wife. After all, the people have turned against him and he can do very little. He is to let Morton Kiil know by two o’clock.
As Morton Kiil is leaving, Hovstad and Aslaksen arrive. They immediately ask Dr. Stockmann if his father-in-law hasn’t been buying stocks in the baths. Then they suggest it would have been more prudent of Dr. Stockmann to have let them in on his little plan of secretly buying up the baths stocks after giving out the false rumors. This is too much for Dr. Stockmann. He grabs his stick and drives both men out of the house. He calls Petra and sends his answer immediately to Old Morton Kiil. He then tells his wife that they will stay in the town and fight all the worse elements. He will found a school and teach the street curs how to think and act properly. He has, he says, learned one great lesson — the strongest man is the man who stands alone.
Analysis
Act V is a practical or materialistic test of Dr. Stockmann’s idealism. In the last act, we saw Aslaksen and Hovstad retract when they stood to lose something personally. This act now confronts Dr. Stockmann with great personal losses if he continues to assert his views. This test is necessary before we can formulate a complete view of Dr. Stockmann.
Before he faces his test, he first learns that his views have caused Captain Horster to lose his ship and Petra to lose her position in the school. Furthermore, he has faced his own dismissal from the baths. Thus, when Old Morton Kiil comes to him asking him to retract his charges or else all of his inheritance will go to charity, Dr. Stockmann is about ready to yield to the public opinion. He is prevented by the appearance of Hovstad and Aslaksen. When Dr. Stockmann sees that he can gain the admiration of his fellow towns-men by admitting that he engineered the entire plan so as to gain control of the stock of the baths, this accusation (or this admiration) is worse than the rejection by the people. He therefore decides to stand by his idealistic views.
Finally, we must note that Dr. Stockmann’s idealism is not consistent. In Act IV he denied that the common curs could be of any value to society. But in Act V, he says he is going to take the common “street-curs” and educate them into the leading men of society who will then drive out all the bureaucrats. His saving factor, however, is his strong belief in that which is right.
Character Analysis
Aslaksen
Aslaksen is the man of cautious good will. His constant comment involves “proceeding with moderation.” He is afraid of offending anyone who is in authority, unless that person is some distant abstract person who cannot immediately affect him. He represents the compact majority who believes in civic progress so long as it does not involve any expense or effort. He is the type who would rather suffer any type of bad situation rather than get involved in a drastic change.
Hovstad
Hovstad is the professional type of liberal who constantly wants to stir things up as long as he is not directly involved and will not be personally affected. His main concern is to increase the circulation of his paper, and for this purpose he will ignore any principle.
He supports Dr. Stockmann as long as he thinks the compact majority and the public are behind Dr. Stockmann. But as soon as it is known that the public will not support any idea which is going to cost money, he turns against Dr. Stockmann and supports the Burgomaster.
Mrs. Stockmann
She is a minor character who represents the eternal matriarch. Her interest is in the family. She does not care for civic causes, but when her husband is attacked by other people, she comes to his side even though she does not understand the principles behind the cause.
Peter Stockmann (The Burgomaster)
The Burgomaster represents the old established order of things. He believes that authority should rest in the hands of the officials and that all individuals should be subjected to the rule of these authorities. He does not believe in personal or individual expressions. He is convinced that he is right and anyone opposed to him must be wrong. He tells Dr. Stockmann that “the individual must subordinate himself to society, or, more precisely, to the authorities whose business it is to watch over the welfare of society.” He is, then, the reactionary who is afraid of any change because change implies a reevaluation of authority.
The Burgomaster is not a man of strong ethical principles. Instead, he is the practical man who looks to see how something will bring a practical or material reward. He cannot conceive of the possibility that he might be wrong in anything. Thus part of his opposition to Dr. Stockmann’s news about the baths is due to the fact that the Burgomaster was responsible for placing the water-pipes in the wrong place. He is incapable of facing the fact that he made a tremendous error, and therefore, he must repress the news of the bad sanitary conditions so that his own reputation will be preserved.
Dr. Stockmann
Dr. Stockmann represents the extreme idealist who has no concept of the practical side of life. His idealism blinds him to the common procedures of everyday activity.
As an idealist, Dr. Stockmann believes strongly in individual freedom and the right of every man to express himself freely. He cannot become a party to any dishonest or unethical act. Thus, he cannot bend in any sense of the word. He is accurately characterized as too impetuous. As soon as he finds out about the bad sanitary conditions at the baths, he immediately makes the news public and refuses to listen to any compromise and demands that the water pipes be re-laid. He does not try to convince the people of his view, but instead, goes directly and blindly at a demanded improvement. It is, therefore, his lack of tact and understanding of the practical issues which place him in such an awkward position.
There is, however, a touch of jealous revenge in Dr. Stockmann’s actions. He was annoyed that the Burgomaster did not build the pipes according to the doctor’s original specifications, and thus he is delighted that he is able to prove the Burgomaster to be wrong.
Furthermore, Dr. Stockmann’s idealism is somewhat muddled. He is not consistent. At one point he maintains that the common people have no right to a voice in the government. But this is what the Burgomaster had previously told the doctor and the doctor had stoutly asserted the right of every citizen to express his own views. Likewise, he suggests that the common people are like curs or impure animals and can never be educated to take a significant role in the development of a society. Yet at the end he is going to take some “street-curs” and educate them to run the wolves out of the government.
Dr. Stockmann is saved as a character because he puts his principles above his own desires and gains. He is not tempted by financial rewards enough to deny the truth of the condition of the baths. He is thoroughly disgusted by the petty and dishonest interpretations placed on his actions. And as a man of great personal integrity, he spurns a large inheritance in order to maintain an ethical and moral responsibility to himself and to his community.