Brief description
It is known that Ibsen had had the idea of writing An Enemy of the People before he wrote Ghosts in 1881. In a letter to his publisher Frederik Hegel, posted in Rome on 23 November 1881, immediately after Ghosts had been sent off for printing, Ibsen writes: «I am already playing with the idea of a new four-act comedy, which I thought of earlier but put aside in favour of 'Ghosts', as this was urging me on and absorbing all my interest.» [read the letter in HISe]
Lorentz Dietrichson, who visited Ibsen in Rome in February 1881, writes in his memoirs Past Times: «the ideas he expresses in 'An Enemy of the People' had already matured in him in the spring of 1881, and were aired in almost all our conversations at that time.» [The Documentation Project at the University of Oslo has digitalized the whole of this work: link]
The first plans for the play probably began to take shape in the second half of 1880. Thus when Ibsen started writing An Enemy of the People in the spring of 1882, the work proceeded at a fast pace. As early as 21 June he was able to tell Hegel:
«I finished my new drama yesterday. It is entitled 'An Enemy of the People' and is in five acts. I am still somewhat uncertain as to whether to call it a comedy or a drama; it has many of the features of a comedy, but a serious idea behind it.» [read the letter in HISe]
The fair copy was begun in Rome but completed in Gossensass. Ibsen went there at the beginning of August. The last part of the fair copy was sent to Hegel from Gossensass on 9 September 1882. An Enemy of the People was published on 28 November 1882 by Gyldendalske Boghandels Forlag (F. Hegel & Søn) in Copenhagen in an edition of 10 000 copies. The book had a mixed reception.
Contrary to what was the case with Ibsen's previous play, Ghosts, the Scandinavian theatres practically queued up to stage An Enemy of the People. The very first performance was at Christiania Theater on 13 January 1883. The play was directed by Johannes Brun, with Arnoldus Reimers as Dr. Stockmann. This was followed by productions at Den nationale Scene in Bergen (24 January), Svenska Teatern in Helsingfors (5 February), Stora Teatern in Göteborg (27 February), Dramaten in Stockholm (3 March) and Det Kongelige Theater in Copenhagen (4 March).
(From ibsen.net)
Plot summary
Tomas Stockmann is the father of a family and a doctor at a spa in a small Norwegian town. After a lengthy period of analysis he has discovered that the water of the spa that he himself had founded is polluted, and of great danger to the health of all its visitors. The spa is of great importance to the fame and prosperity of the town, but he is convinced that it must be closed until the fault is corrected. To begin with he is praised for his discovery, but when it becomes clear that the improvements will cost the town a great deal, both the press and the inhabitants turn against him. One of his most important opponents is his brother, who is mayor and chief of police, Peter Stockmann.
From several quarters the doctor is asked to moderate his absolute demand that the spa must be closed, but he calls a public meeting in order to present his case. It has now become the general opinion that the majority is always wrong and the minority always right. The people present at the meeting brand him as an enemy of the people and a threat to the town, and he is forced to leave the meeting. The whole affair has dramatic consequences for his family and himself – his patients desert him, he is dismissed from the spa, his daughter Petra loses her job as a teacher and the family lose their home. His first reaction, in rage and disappointment, is to plan to go abroad with his family, but when people start to break his windows and he receives sinister threats and offers, he realizes how little independence of mind there is in the town. He decides to stay there and devote himself to the task of bringing up citizens with a freer spirit.
(Source: Merete Morken Andersen, Ibsenhåndboken, Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, 1995.)
Read An Enemy of the People (in Norwegian)
In the online version of the official Ibsen edition (HISe), you can read An Enemy of the People in various formats. This content is currently only available in Norwegian. Follow the links below to read the play:
Introduction to the work (in Norwegian)
The online version of the official Ibsen edition (HISe) offers extensive information about An Enemy of the People in Norwegian. Follow the links below to read about various aspects connected to the play.
- Background
- Creative process
- About the publication
- Translations in Ibsen's life time
- Stagings in Ibsen's life time
- More information
Reviews
Here you can find reviews in full text and an overview of registered reviews in various languages.
- Reviews from Ibsen's life time in full text
- Reviews registered in the Ibsen bibliography (nb.no)
- Reviews registered in "Norsk litteraturkritikk" (UiO)
Translations
- The Multilingual Ibsen
- Translations in various languages
- Overview of translations from Ibsen's lifetime (HISe)