An Enemy of the People
By Henrik Ibsen
3.5/5
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Currently unavailable
About this ebook
Widely regarded as one of the foremost dramatists of the nineteenth century, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906) brought the social problems and ideas of his day to center stage. Creating realistic plays of psychological conflict that emphasized character over cunning plots, he frequently inspired critical objections because his dramas deemed the individual more important than the group.
In this powerful work, Ibsen places his main characters, Dr. Thomas Stockman, in the role of an enlightened and persecuted minority of one confronting an ignorant, powerful majority. When the physician learns that the famous and financially successful baths in his hometown are contaminated, he insists they be shut down for expensive repairs. For his honesty, he is persecuted, ridiculed, and declared an "enemy of the people" by the townspeople, included some who have been his closest allies.
First staged in 1883, An Enemy of the People remains one of the most frequently performed plays by a writer considered by many the "father of modern drama." This easily affordable edition makes available to students, teachers, and general readers a major work by one of the world's great playwrights.
Henrik Ibsen
Born in 1828, Henrik Ibsen was a Norwegian playwright and poet, often associated with the early Modernist movement in theatre. Determined to become a playwright from a young age, Ibsen began writing while working as an apprentice pharmacist to help support his family. Though his early plays were largely unsuccessful, Ibsen was able to take employment at a theatre where he worked as a writer, director, and producer. Ibsen’s first success came with Brand and Peter Gynt, and with later plays like A Doll’s House, Ghosts, and The Master Builder he became one of the most performed playwrights in the world, second only to William Shakespeare. Ibsen died in his home in Norway in 1906 at the age of 78.
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Reviews for An Enemy of the People
131 ratings4 reviews
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Sterkste maatschappelijke toneelstuk van IbsenThema: -dubieuze democratie-manipulatie in naam van publieke opinie-ideaal en eigenbelangOp eind te moraliserend
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Having once seen a snippet of Steve McQueen play the main role in a movie adaptation An Enemy of the People, for a long time I wanted to read this.Boy was I disappointed when I did! The bit I recall McQueen speaking wasn't even in this, the original.Yuck!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Amazingly relevant to 2020 America!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A truly magnificent play. The speeches by Dr. Stockmann in Act 4 were simply brilliant. I was worried in Act 5 that the play would turn into tragedy and Dr. Stockmann would sell his soul to the devil. Instead, his heroism increased tenfold. A beautifully written -- not predictable, unexpected and truly the stuff that plays should be made of.