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Dr Thomas Stockmann, the medical officer of a small Norwegian spa town, discovers that the waters of the new baths, on which the town's prosperity depends…
Dr Thomas Stockmann, the medical officer of a small Norwegian spa town, discovers that the waters of the new baths, on which the town's prosperity depends, are poisoned by waste from tanneries. Expecting to be thanked, he plans to publish his findings. But his brother, the mayor, warns that the repairs would ruin the town; the liberal newspaper and the property owners turn against him; and at a public meeting the crowd declares him an enemy of the people.
Context and significance
Henrik Ibsen wrote the play in 1882, partly as an angry reply to the attacks on his earlier play Ghosts. Its closing line, that the strongest man in the world is the one who stands most alone, and its questions about truth, majority opinion and public health have kept it constantly relevant. See Ibsen's life.
About the author
Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906) was born in Skien in Norway; his family lost its money when he was a boy, and at fifteen he became a pharmacist's apprentice. He worked in theatres in Bergen and Christiania with little success, and then spent twenty-seven years in Italy and Germany, where he wrote his greatest works.
His verse dramas Brand and Peer Gynt were followed by realistic prose plays about modern life, A Doll's House, Ghosts and Hedda Gabler, which shocked audiences and changed theatre forever. He is often called the father of modern drama.