An Enemy of the People

An Enemy of the People is Henrik Ibsen's 1882 play about the dangers of collectivism and the importance of research, leadership, and individual responsibility. In the play, Dr. Stockmann has...

An Enemy Of The People has an intriguing title so this work has been the subject of much debate and analysis. To find the answer we must first look at the context and plot of this piece which...

In this important play by Ibsen, the tyranny of the majority and the way that leaders often bow to public opinion regardless of whether it is the right thing to do or not is exposed through the...

Part of Ibsen's reason for writing An Enemy of the People was the hostile reception of his previous play Ghosts. Ibsen believed that the public had failed to make any distinction between the...

The shocking turn of events in the third act of "An Enemy of the People" is the realization that the mayor and press don't care about the adverse of effects of the tannery, as long as they continue...

Dr. Stockmann is basing his opinions about the poor water quality on scientific evidence. As a man of science, he thinks that this will be convincing to other people as well. The people with whom...

In his 1882 play An Enemy of the People, Henrik Ibsen addressed the serious environmental issue of water pollution. At the time, neither academic environmental studies nor public environmental...

The entire play is built on the question of absolute vs. relative, in that the social choice facing Dr. Stockmann is whether the financial interests of the few outweigh the health interests of the...

Henrik Ibsen explores the theme of taking responsibility in the face of widespread opposition. At the same time, he addresses the issues of community involvement and drawing appropriate boundaries....

Setting is the time and place of the action of the story, including the people, customs and geography. The story opens in a small town on the coast of Norway. The action of the story likely takes...

In Henrik Ibsen's An Enemy of the People, the medical professional Dr. Thomas Stockmann discovers something sinister about a spa recently opened in his town. The water used in the spa baths is...

Oddly, the town itself is the main “character” in this early exploration of the dramatic possibilities of environmental conflicts. Its two “needs”—economic prosperity and healthy citizens – are...

Henrik Ibsen is primarily associated with realism, and the Romantic era had waned by the time he was writing. Nevertheless, it is possible to identify numerous Romantic elements in his plays. These...

This play by Ibsen is famously about the morality of pursuing an action that you know to be right even when it is opposed by those you seek to help. Stockmann is the medical officer in charge of...

Ibsen uses dialogue and setting to introduce antecedent action and solve the problem of exposition in Act 1 of "An Enemy of the People." He gives his characters reasons to state important facts,...