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.