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In An Enemy of the People, what dramatic reversal occurs in act 3?
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In Act 3 of "An Enemy of the People," a dramatic reversal occurs when Dr. Stockmann discovers that the local newspaper and his brother, Mayor Peter Stockmann, have conspired to suppress his report on the polluted baths. They prioritize profit over public health and refuse to print his findings, instead choosing to vilify him. This betrayal highlights the conflict between individual morality and public interests, as Dr. Stockmann becomes an outcast for advocating truth and safety.
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 to make profit and don't have to spend money. When it is revealed that, not only will the town have to pay for the appropriate updates to fix the issues the tannery is causing, they will also have to close the baths for up to two years. Doing so would be a significant amount of money from the town's purse, and they are unwilling to oblige.
The shock comes when, having told the Mayor, his brother, the results of is research, Dr. Stockmann learns that his paper is being stonewalled and kept out of the press so the government won't have to pay for the fixes. Additionally, he is being...
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blacklisted and the press is being turned against him so he will lose his credibility.
In 1882, Henrik Ibsen wrote An Enemy of the People as a denunciation of collectivism. It concerns problems with the safety of public baths in a small town, and the fight of Dr. Stockmann against public opinion to inform and educate.
In Act III, Dr. Stockmann has written a scientific paper proving the unhealthy influence of the tannery on the baths. He has given it to the local newspapermen to print, but after he leaves they are visited by his brother, Mayor Peter Stockmann:
Peter Stockmann: ...If the town wants these very extensive alterations, it will have to pay for them.
Aslaksen: But, damn it all--I beg your pardon--this is quite another matter, Mr. Hovstad!
Hovstad: It is, indeed.
Peter Stockmann: The most fatal part of it is that we shall be obliged to shut the Baths for a couple of years.
Hovstad: Shut them? Shut them altogether?
Aslaksen: For two years?
Peter Stockmann: Yes, the work will take as long as that--at least.
Aslaksen: I'm damned if we will stand that, Mr. Mayor! What are we householders to live upon in the meantime?
Peter Stockmann: Unfortunately, that is an extremely difficult question to answer, Mr. Aslaksen. But what would you have us do? Do you suppose we shall have a single visitor in the town, if we go about proclaiming that our water is polluted, that we are living over a plague spot, that the entire town--
Aslaksen: And the whole thing is merely imagination?
Peter Stockmann: With the best will in the world, I have not been able to come to any other conclusion.
(Ibsen, An Enemy of the People, gutenberg.org)
In favor of profit and public opinion, Peter convinces the newspaper to not only reject Dr. Stockmann's paper, but to run articles criticizing and ridiculing him. Dr. Stockmann thought that he had the impartial and objective outlet of the news on his side, but instead he becomes a victim of public destruction, egged on by his brother and fueled every day by the media. Although he tries, one man cannot stand up against a committed culture of personal destruction, and his message of safety and personal responsibility is lost in an entirely invented attack on his person.