An Enemy of the People: An Adaptation of the Play by Henrik Ibsen
46 pages • 1-hour read
Arthur MillerAn Enemy of the People: An Adaptation of the Play by Henrik Ibsen
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Symbols & Motifs
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of illness and bullying.
The Town Baths
The town baths are an important symbol in the play, reflecting the hopes and dreams of the community as well as their latent potential for corruption. The mayor insists that the baths will “put [the town] on the map, and there is no question about it” (4). As Dr. Struckmann notes, Peter was heavily involved in the planning of the baths, and the town is now economically dependent on them.
The revelation that the water in the baths contains infectious bacteria from the local tannery changes the baths from a health-giving tourist attraction into a source of serious harm. The baths now become a symbolic warning of the greed and immorality of those running for-profit businesses. The tannery fills the water with poison because men like Kiil care more about money than public health. The poisoned water in the baths is ignored because men like Peter care more about their reputation and their power than the health of the visitors. The baths themselves become symbols of this moral corruption, as the people of the town are increasingly reluctant to recognize the truth about the poisoned water that surrounds them.
The baths themselves never appear in the play; they’re only spoken about by the characters in terms of their meaning to the community. The absence of the baths heightens their symbolic significance, turning them into a metaphorical space in which the town debates its own moral identity. In this debate, Dr. Stockmann is damned by the town for daring to challenge the positive symbolism of the baths. In doing so, the community itself turns the baths into a symbol of The Dangers of the Uninformed Masses, encapsulating Dr. Stockmann’s denouncement of the right of the majority as an “age-old lie” (61).
The Newspaper
The People’s Daily Messenger is a small newspaper that, as the editor, Hovstad, says, is dedicated to publishing the “real truth.” Hovstad initially looks forward to publishing Dr. Stockmann’s report because it will allow him to challenge the “smug cabal” that he believes is in charge of the town. The People’s Daily Messenger, as the name implies, is intended to fight for the right of the common people but ultimately becomes a symbol of The Moral Limits of Compromise.
Peter’s contempt for the newspaper is a symbol of its significance, at least insofar as it’s able to challenge him for status and power. Like his brother, he shares the belief that the Messenger represents the potential of a “liberal, free, and independent press” (30). For Peter, however, this is a negative, while men like Dr. Stuckmann and Hovstad view freedom of expression as a foundation of a good democracy.
As the play unfolds, however, the various hypocrisies of the staff of the newspaper come to light. Aslaksen reveals that Billing, for all his radical challenge to authorities, has applied for the position of magistrate’s clerk—he is willing to work for the institutions that he’s supposed to be challenging. Similarly, Hovstad isn’t as morally pure as he would like to believe. In spite of his pride in challenging Peter, he finds himself in constant need of funds for his newspaper, and the prospect of losing his newspaper makes him rethink his values. He changes his mind, refusing to print Dr. Stockmann’s story because he fears that the economic impact of the story could damage the reputation and the finances of his newspaper. Aslaksen, never the most radical to begin with, cajoles his colleagues into abandoning everything that the newspaper supposedly represents. In this way, the symbolism of the newspaper changes. Rather than symbolizing the importance of a free and liberal press, the newspaper and its workers come to represent the widespread hypocrisy of the public. Thus, it also symbolizes the ubiquity of moral compromise, even among the most radical, in the name of self-interest.
Health and Sickness
Health and sickness form a key motif in the play. Peter’s introduction in the opening scene emphasizes his focus on health. He declines alcohol and even food, claiming that his body can’t tolerate certain substances, much less the lifestyles that he believes they represent. To Peter, his brother’s frequent consumption of large meals and many drinks and the hosting of many guests is an affront to physical health, while Dr. Stockmann laments that his brother fills himself with “all that damn weak tea” (10), which he reads as a sign of weakness. This interpretation of health signals the differences between the two brothers. While Peter views his moderation and reserve as a demonstration of restraint and control, Dr. Stockmann views his brother’s refusal as antisocial, miserly, and pathetic.
The motif of health is most prominent in discussions of the local baths, which are believed to have healing properties. Peter suggests that tourism to the baths will become a “regular fad,” suggesting that he’s less interested in the actual healing qualities of the baths than in the money that they will bring to the locals. Even at this early stage of the play, the visitors’ actual health is of no concern to Peter.
Dr. Stockmann’s discovery threatens to undermine everything Peter hopes for the town. Rather than healing the visitors, bacteria from the local tannery will make them seriously ill. Dr. Stockmann is an expert who has discovered a problem in his field of expertise, yet his expertise is dismissed by nonexperts who find it to be inconvenient. Thus, the motif becomes an important reflection of The Dangers of the Uninformed Masses. The townspeople’s refusal to acknowledge the findings of Dr. Stockmann’s report indicate a pandemic of indifference to principles. Gradually, this infects the whole town, to the point that the townspeople would rather smash windows and threaten children than countenance the idea that they may be wrong. This cynicism and self-interest, like the pollution from the tannery, flows from Kiil. His tannery causes the pollution, and he embodies the demand for moral compromise from Dr. Stockmann. Kiil’s moral sickness spreads until the moral health of the whole town is as compromised as the bathwater.
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