An Enemy of the People

Henrik Ibsen does not simplify any of the ethical problems in his play An Enemy of the People. Dr. Stockmann's whistle-blowing is not a clear-cut question of right and wrong and the responses of the Board of Directors of the Baths are not entirely wrong. The character who acts in the worst manner--Mrs. Stockmann's adoptive father, Morten Kiil--acts out of his pleasure in hurting and manipulating people. But even his actions point out the degree of self-interest that motivated Dr. Stockmann in the first place. Kiil is the most unethical character, but he is also the smartest in his perception of what these people could have done and why they eventually did what they did.

At first Dr. Stockmann is presented as a very nice man who is simply faced with a problem. His brother Peter, the mayor, is presented as a suspicious and fussy man who censures everyone else's simple pleasures. When Peter hears that there is a possible problem with the publication of his brother's article he becomes alarmed. At first Peter's fussiness has made the audience think that he is a narrow, mean person who means his brother no good. When he asks why the doctor has gone behind his back it sounds as though he is only concerned with his own importance. But it is mostly his prim manner of speech and his unlikeable qualities that make it seem as though he must be wrong. He should, in fact, have been advised of the potential problem with the business. Dr. Stockmann is an employee and, as it tur

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