An Enemy of the People
1882 · Drama
Free to read in your browser. Public-domain edition from Project Gutenberg, illustrated as you read.
About This Book
An Enemy of the People is a powerful social drama by Henrik Ibsen that probes the conflict between private conscience and public interest. Written in the 19th century but still cutting today, the play follows a small coastal town whose prosperity depends on a popular public bathhouse. When the town’s future collides with inconvenient scientific truth, civic life unravels. Dr. Thomas Stockmann, the town’s physician and an earnest reformer, discovers that the Baths are dangerously contaminated and believes the authorities must be told at once. His brother, Peter Stockmann, the mayor and a pragmatic steward of the town’s economy, urges caution and damage control. As Thomas appeals to friends, the radical local press, and finally a public meeting, alliances shift: the paper’s editor hesitates, townspeople fear the financial consequences, and civic leaders weigh reputation against safety. Conflicts between idealism and expedience drive tense exchanges and escalating consequences for the doctor and his family. The play is a study of moral courage, groupthink and the price of speaking inconvenient truth. Ibsen’s lean structure and vivid characters turn a local scandal into a broader inquiry about how communities handle expertise, dissent and democratic decision-making.
Characters in An Enemy of the People
Dr. Thomas StockmannDr. Thomas Stockmann is the principled medical officer of his town’s new Baths, whose scientific zeal and moral conviction place him at odds with powerful civic interests. As he insists on speaking inconvenient truths for the public good, he becomes the play’s focal point for debates about integrity, majority opinion, and the responsibilities of citizenship.
Peter StockmannPeter Stockmann is the town’s mayor and the administrator overseeing the public Baths, embodying civic authority, order, and reputation. As the elder brother to Dr. Thomas Stockmann, he provides the play’s principal counterweight to idealism, advocating caution, stability, and economic interests. His decisions and pressure shape the public narrative and drive the central conflict, making him crucial to the drama’s exploration of truth versus expediency.
Mrs. StockmannMrs. Stockmann is Dr. Thomas Stockmann’s wife and the stabilizing center of the household, balancing domestic responsibilities with a pragmatic outlook. She supports her husband yet often urges caution, weighing family welfare and social consequences against idealism. Through her grounded presence, she highlights the personal costs of public conflict and gives the play an intimate, human scale.
Petra StockmannPetra is Dr. Thomas Stockmann’s outspoken daughter, a schoolteacher and translator whose independence and principled outlook mirror and sharpen the play’s debates about truth, duty, and social responsibility. As a confidante and moral counterpoint to older figures, she embodies progressive ideals and personal integrity, helping the audience gauge the ethical stakes of the town’s conflict without dominating the plot.
Ejlif StockmannEjlif Stockmann is Dr. Thomas Stockmann’s elder son, a bright, inquisitive schoolboy who helps reveal the home life and values that motivate his father. Through Ejlif’s questions and reactions, the play contrasts youthful curiosity with adult compromise and shows how public conflicts ripple through a family. His presence underscores themes of integrity, education, and the shaping of the next generation, without driving the central political confrontations.
Morten StockmannMorten Stockmann is the younger son of Dr. Thomas Stockmann and Katherine, appearing mainly in domestic scenes that reveal the family’s values and the everyday stakes behind the town’s larger conflicts. His school troubles and questions about discipline and fairness help introduce themes of integrity, independence, and the shaping of the next generation, providing a child’s‑eye counterpoint to the adults’ disputes without driving the plot himself.
Morten KiilA prosperous local tanner and Dr. Stockmann’s father-in-law, Morten Kiil represents hard-nosed, small‑town self-interest. He enters the fray around the town’s baths to safeguard his business and savings, using money and family ties to apply pressure, providing both comic bite and moral complication without serving as the central antagonist.
HovstadHovstad is the ambitious editor of the People’s Messenger, a small-town newspaper whose influence outstrips its size. He positions himself as a voice for the common citizen and initially allies with reformist causes, but his pragmatism, political calculations, and sensitivity to public opinion test the ideals he professes. Through him, the play probes the responsibilities and vulnerabilities of the press and how conviction can collide with expediency.
BillingBilling is a junior journalist at The People’s Messenger and a colleague of Hovstad, loudly professing radical views while angling for personal advancement. Through his shifting loyalties and convenient principles, he serves as a satirical lens on the press and political opportunism in the town, highlighting how self-interest can erode integrity.
AslaksenAslaksen is the town’s small master printer and the cautious, consensus‑seeking chairman of the Householders’ Association. Pragmatic and risk‑averse, he values moderation and the will of the “compact majority,” positioning himself as a mediator between radical ideas and civic stability. He represents the cautious petty bourgeois voice that wields outsized influence in public opinion and local politics.
Captain HorsterA quietly principled ship captain, Horster supports Dr. Stockmann when the town turns against him, offering space for a public meeting and standing by him at personal cost. He serves as a moral counterpoint to the community’s opportunism, embodying steady courage and solidarity without seeking attention.
Study guide
Summaries and analysis of all 5 chapters, and profiles of 11 characters, illustrated with scenes from the book.
An Enemy of the People summary ›An Enemy of the People characters ›
Key Scenes & Storyboard
2 illustrated scenes. These appear beside the passage they depict as you read.
Themes
- truth vs. expedience
- public health
- groupthink
- individual conscience
- power and reputation
Why Read An Enemy of the People?
Ibsen’s play remains strikingly relevant: it stages the clash between scientific evidence and economic or political interests in a way that anticipates modern debates about expertise, media influence and civic responsibility. The dialogue-driven structure makes complex ethical dilemmas feel immediate and personal, while the compact cast lets readers focus on the human costs of institutional choices.
Read it to see how a community responds when prosperity and safety collide, and to study characters who embody conflicting loyalties—family, career, civic duty and moral principle. The play offers no tidy answers, but it sharpens questions about who gets to decide what matters in a democracy and what happens to those who insist on speaking uncomfortable truths.
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