Act V

In the fifth and final act of this book, resolution is finally found. Many people pay a visit to the Doctor, starting off with Horster; he informs them that they will not be able to sail with him to the new world, as he himself has been dismissed from the ship for being affiliated with Stockmann. He's not the only one dismissed though, as Mrs. Stockmann and Petra are also dismissed from their duties. The Stockmann's are even evicted from their home. I agree with the Doctor when he says that all of these dismissals are the work of cowards, as they are all backed by the excuse of "public opinion." Peter visits to inform Stockmann of his dismissal from the Baths committee. After that, he is visited by Aslaksen and Hovstad who try to make peace and offer him full disposal of the People's Messenger to get his point across, but when they reveal their motives, Stockmann goes mad and tries to get them to jump out of his now-broken windows. Thankfully, Mrs. Stockmann holds him back and the men make an escape. Soon after, the boys get home and Stockmann makes the bold move of telling them they are not to go back to school, and that he will be schooling them on his own.

Act IV

In the fourth act, Dr. Stockmann follows through on his decision to speak to the general public, but not about the Baths. He seemed rather angry about Aslaksan being elected chairman of the meeting and I can see why, considering he was only there to give a lecture and not to hold a meeting. He becomes even more frustrated when Peter stands up to speak, as per request of the People. As the Doctor began in on his speech, though, he was not intent on speaking about the Baths as everyone had expected, but rather spoke of how the compact majority is the poison of the town. I felt it was rather bold of him to do so, speaking of this in front of the compact majority. This being said, I was not surprised when the town (with aid from Aslaksen, the mayor, and Hovstad) elected Stockmann as an "enemy of the people" after he completed his speech. This didn't cause him to back down, and he still continues to tell them that he will not stop until his message gets across, even if he was to tell the whole country about it.

A man speaking in front of a crowd.

Act III

Act III does a complete 180* turn in the plot from where it was during even the beginning of the act. While in the beginning of the act the Doctor has all the men of the People's Messenger on his side, that quickly changes after Peter Stockmann pays them a visit. In the beginning of the act, when the Doctor shows up at the editorial office, he practically rallies the men (except for Aslaskan, who kept his usual skeptical demeanor) into printing anything he has to say about the Baths and all the impurities, saying he has 4 or 5 more of the original papers already sketched up in his head. After accomplishing this, he takes off with confidence in his mind of his message being sent through this paper. After he leaves, Peter shows up to speak with Hovstad, and ends up turning all of the men against Dr. Stockmann by showing him a farce, even though he is not. When the Doctor comes back to confirm his papers are in press, he discovers Peter was there and hid when he saw the Doctor coming. This is when he discovers that he no longer has the men of the People's Messenger helping him get his message out due to the influence the mayor had on them. Mrs. Stockmann shows up and upon realization of the men being turned against her husband, has a change of heart and decides to support him in getting his message out, and has also decided to let her sons and daughter help him in his cause. The other men don't believe he'll be able to accomplish what he hopes to accomplish, saying things like, "No, I'm damned if you will [find a man in town to go along with you]."

Flogging Molly - "Revolution"

Act II

In Act II of AEP, Dr. Stockmann's actions after his discovery begin to show their effects; Mrs. Stockmann's father Morten Kiil shows up at their house and questions the doctor of his intentions and refuses to believe his claims are any more than a joke. Aslasken visits and ensures him full support from the compact majority lead by himself, and though Stockmann is reluctant to accept the support at first, he warms up to the idea after his visit from Peter Stockmann, the mayor of the town as well as the Doctor's brother. When he stops by, his ill temper that was first established in Act I was made present again. He began to argue with Dr. Stockmann over whether or not action should be taken over the Baths and told him that it would cost fifteen- to twenty-thousand pounds and would take 2 years to complete; I personally feel that may have been an exaggeration to scare Dr. Stockmann away from the subject. The scene ends with a near-fight scene between the brothers, Dr. Stockmann being more determined than ever to make the problem of the Baths evident, and Katherine Stockmann trying to stop her husband from taking action.

Act I

I just finished reading Act I of An Enemy of the People (AEP), and from what I have gathered so far, there are many men, and one couple with 3 children, all gathered together in the couple's home. The husband is a doctor and has been involved in an investigation of the town's local tourist attraction: The Baths. I haven't figured out if The Baths are literally baths, or if they are spas, cool springs, or other natural formations of the sort. I still haven't quite picked up the roles of Peter Stockman, Hovstad, Horster, or Billing. I hope there will be more elaboration on their roles in the following acts..

How I envisioned the Baths.