KATHERINE
STOCKMAN:
AN
ENEMY
OF
THE
PEOPLE?
By
Susan
Cordero
Henrik
Ibsen’s
play
An
Enemy
of
the
People,
written
in
1882,
holds
an
eerie
relevance
to
modern
times,
touching
on
environmental
issues,
economic
growth,
and
political
agendas,
and
validating
the
theory
that
history
is
doomed
to
repeat
itself.
Adam
Chanzit
tackles
the
issues
presented
by
Ibsen
and
revives
Ibsen’s
plot
in
his
adaptation
The
Great
Divide.
Debrief
of
the
Enemy
Ibsen’s
An
Enemy
of
the
People
takes
place
in
the
late
nineteenth
century
in
a
Norwegian
village,
where
the
community
thrives
thanks
to
the
development
of
medicinal
baths
that
the
inventive
Dr.
Thomas
Stockmann
has
designed.
The
mineral
baths
attract
not
only
locals,
but
also
draw
a
great
flood
of
tourists.
Only
when
the
baths
are
deemed
to
be
polluted
with
chemicals
that
cause
typhoid
and
other
illnesses
does
the
situation
get
more
complex.
The
Doctor
pushes
to
overhaul
the
baths,
which
would
cost
an
enormous
amount
of
money,
and
thus
pits
himself
against
the
majority
of
the
town.
While
both
stories
focus
on
the
doctor
who
opposes
the
town’s
agenda,
Dr.
Stockman
in
The
Great
Divide
is
a
woman
and
the
head
of
her
family,
whereas
in
An
Enemy
of
the
People,
Dr.
Stockmann
is
a
man.
In
both
the
original
and
in
the
retelling,
the
Doctor
looks
to
the
family
for
moral
support.
However,
while
Dr.
Katherine
has
some
backing
from
some
citizens
of
the
town,
Dr.
Thomas
has
only
one
person
outside
of
his
family
to
look
to
for
help,
named
Captain
Horster.
There
is
a
deviation
of
interest
as
well.
Since
Thomas
had
helped
design
the
baths,
he
is
partially
responsible
for
their
pollution.
While
Katherine
does
know
of
some
who
are
affected
by
the
fracking,
in
her
case
there
is
no
apparent
conflict
of
interest.
An
Enemy’s
Themes
“The
strongest
man
in
the
world
is
the
one
who
stands
most
alone.”
‐
Henrik
Ibsen
The
Great
Divide
and
An
Enemy
of
the
People
both
raise
one
of
the
most
controversial
questions
in
modern
society,
protection
of
the
community
as
a
whole
versus
the
rights
of
individual
citizens.
In
Great
Divide,
Adam
Chanzit
explores
the
moral
complexity
of
the
issues.
However,
Ibsen’s
play
portrays
a
clearer
conflict
between
good
and
evil,
a
clearer
line
between
right
and
wrong.
The
question
is
one
of
profits
versus
moral
principles,
of
greed
juxtaposed
against
righteousness.
The
character
of
Dr.
Thomas
Stockmann
asserts,
“The
majority
is
always
wrong;
the
minority
is
rarely
right,”
implying
that
his
concerns
are
more
a
matter
of
ideals
than
the
actual
issue
of
the
polluted
baths.
Ibsen’s
lead
character
becomes
a
crusader
of
morality
against
the
ignorant
masses.
The
main
theme
of
the
play
then
becomes
about
the
individual
against
the
mass,
a
challenge
to
conformity.
Dr.
Stockmann
in
Ibsen’s
rendition
feels
a
moral
superiority
over
the
citizens
of
the
community,
likening
them
to
“nasty,
frowsy,
plebian
cur(s).”
He
concludes
that
the
citizens
are
so
inferior,
that
he
must
break
away
and
educate
those
who
have
the
potential
to
follow
his
lead.
www.norskfolkemuseum.no
The
Ghosts
of
Ibsen
“Working
on
this
play
has
been
a
pleasure,
and
now
that
I
am
done
with
it
I
feel
a
sense
of
loss
and
emptiness.
Dr.
Stockmann
and
I
got
along
famously
together;
there
are
so
many
things
we
agree
upon;
but
the
doctor
is
much
more
chaotic
than
I
am.
Moreover
he
has
other
qualities
that
allow
him
to
say
a
number
of
things
which
would
not
be
tolerated
quite
so
well
if
they
were
to
come
from
my
lips.”
‐ Ibsen
(letter
sent
to
Hegel,
attached
to
An
Enemy
of
the
People
manuscript)
Ibsen
faced
much
criticism
before
publishing
An
Enemy
of
the
People.
After
writing
the
play
Ghosts,
which
touched
on
the
topic
of
syphilis,
critics
were
in
uproar,
deeming
the
play
scandalous,
disgusting
and
revolting.
Ibsen
expressed
much
frustration
over
critics
and
reviewers
assuming
that
his
plays
were
a
commentary
on
his
own
personal
feelings.
After
being
constantly
associated
with
the
personal
opinions
of
his
characters,
he
decided
to
indulge
and
create
a
character
that
truly
was
a
manifestation
of
himself.
Creating
the
character
of
Dr.
Thomas
Stockmann
was
Ibsen’s
subtle
little
act
of
revenge
against
negative
public
opinion,
but
he
became
one
of
the
great
characters
of
Western
drama.