Thread by @elleschneider

In addition to being the screed of an ignoramus, ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE is one of Ibsen's most enduring plays, about a doctor who discovers bacteria poisoning a spa town, and plans to announce it in the paper. The press could cause the spa to close, resulting in economic upheaval 1/

People don't believe the crisis is real, it must be a joke; they can't see any bacteria. Meanwhile, the paper wants to use the infection to expose the town's political corruption. The mayor tells the doctor that if he speaks out, he'll be to blame for the town's economic ruin. 2/

The mayor accuses the doctor of not looking at the bigger picture; he suggests he solve the problem quietly, not in a public way that might upset the town—we've learned there is an upcoming election. The mayor brings the paper his own statement, assuring the safety of the spa. 3/

With cold feet about destroying the town's reputation, the press agrees to print the mayor's words. Angry, the doctor addresses the town, but becomes outraged at the ignorant masses, rants about the colossal stupidity of the authorities. He is labeled "an enemy of the people." 4/

The doctor's home is trashed, and he's all but run out of town. His own father-in-law, the source of the infection, spends all his money on stock in the spa to ensure it doesn't go bankrupt. The doctor gives up on finding a cure and decides to stand on his own outside society. 5/

This allegory for the precarious relationship between science, government, press, and economy is a little too real right now, and the lesson about publicizing danger without reaching the people is a timely one. 6/

You can read an English translation here: gutenberg.org/files/2446/244…

"The whole Bath establishment is a whited, poisoned sepulchre, I tell you—the gravest possible danger to the public health!"

"What is there for him to say? I should think he would be very glad that such an important truth has been brought to light."

Enemy of the People, 1882