“An Enemy of the People” Arthur Miller’s adaptation of the play by Henrik Ibsen (1950)
In a terrible Italian accent Good fuggin’ play. Dat’s a good fuggin’ play. Ay! I like that play. Bat-ta-Bing! Bat-ta-Boom! Ay! O!
Yeah this was another banger from ‘Ol Miller Boy. On his Millie Shi for real, furreal. Alright look: I’m tired and it’s late. Don’t know how much of this I’ll keep in the final edit. We’ll see. Just wanted to write down some thots. ;)
-The relationship between the brothers Tom and Peter Stockmann. I loved this, like the other plays I’ve read so far, Miller is interested in stories where family members are separated by philosophical or political differences. Feels so close to home for Miller in 1950, while still so real in 2026. For me, it can be hard to talk about larger political issues with some family, who might force me to defend myself before listening to what I have to say. And because they’re family, the things they believe vs what I believe end up forming a narrative between us of who we are, as people today, as grown children having developed from our different reactions to similar life experiences; maybe its because of an age gap between us, but surprisingly sometimes this disagreement happens even when there isn’t one. (Bad Sentence, but will stay in for posterity). In this play, stuff gets personal between these brothers and I completely relate. The conversations are heated and aggressive, even if it feels clear that the play’s main problem has a right and a wrong solution. That’s the tension that this play creates so well, and Miller adds to this by subtly defining status between characters. In knowing who has power in whichever moment, the stakes are increasingly suspenseful while the play gets darker and darker.
-The desire for truth, and the psychology of a person who says they desire truth. Dr. Stockmann’s true intentions are potentially selfish as he risks his entire family’s well being to defend his research. Peter, his brother the Mayor, and Dr. Stockmann’s main antagonist, mentions his stubbornness and rebellious character. There is a suggestion that Dr. Stockmann isn’t doing more to compromise on his beliefs. Why couldn’t he run more tests, as his Father-In-Law suggests? Why not ask the town for a second opinion from an independent scientist? Things escalate very quickly and when Dr. Stockmann compares himself to Jesus he completely loses the town’s trust.
-The validity of science. How can you trust the research when you can’t understand it yourself. The only person who doesn’t mock the idea of Bacteria is Dr. Stockmann’s wife, Catherine. But characters in the play seem incredulous to the existence of Bacteria. The townspeople in this play rely exclusively on the newspapers and expertise of the government to inform them. When their Mayor and their main Doctor are differing in opinion on a science issue, and Dr. Stockmann is painted as an Enemy of the town, it’s difficult to imagine how the townspeople could escape their paradigm.
-The corruption of local government, nepotism that goes wrong. Yeah, it’s clear that there’s greed involved in keeping the Springs open when they could be poisoning the people. The other thing is, because Peter helped Tom get his position as the main Doctor in town, their fighting almost feels too personal. Maybe if they weren’t related, there could be more civility, more work to compromise for the sake of the town.
-The vulnerability of people’s beliefs, how easily they can be swayed depending on who they identify with in an argument, or what new information comes to them (Fucking Hovstad…How many of us are like Hovstads? Huh? I mean, I get it man, but Jeez—no backbone…I can’t front tho, lmao. I be Hovstad-ing and shii. Hahaha. When I’m scared and selfish type beat. Haha. I’m a little Hovstad with it. Haha…Alright…I gotta stop. That’s enough. Furreal.) This is Hovstad’s main function, he represents the people who look to feel better about themselves by shifting allegiance when things become difficult. He is unaware of the irony of his loyalty to either Tom or Peter while he runs a so-called “free press.” And he buckles at the first moment of pressure from Peter to not trust Tom AKA Dr. Stockmann.
-The toxic phenomenon of groupthink in the masses of people. Yeah this part is the scariest. Their violence escalates so fast that the children get hurt and abused. The mob in Act 3 seem scary enough to kill Tom and his family, as Catherine suggests they might. We don’t see it happen, but Horester, the Ship Captain, promises to protect them as they’ve become targets in their own home.
-Maybe Miller likes how personal, familial relationships subconsciously influence how people view society, justice, and politics in general. I think that would have been Ibsen’s hypothesis in response to Charles Darwin, photography, Freud, Industrial Revolution, the future, etc. This was a great play and Miller keeps it suspenseful, exciting, and modern. It’s very accessible and almost feels like it takes place in the 1950s, not the late 1800s. I kept thinking about my first techie role at New World in 2013, which was on another translation of this play, directed by Gail Garrison. She was a kind and passionate professor at New World at the time. In an embarrassing moment, She introduced me to the words Fastidious and Meticulous, after I took long to sweep the stage before rehearsals. She called me over from the House seats and asked me to look those words up and to start working in those ways. I had to come back to her with definitions memorized. I think I was literally shaking because of how intense she seemed. I remember that a few of us would fall asleep during rehearsals of this play. And the professors would let us. The language felt so dense. The air was sometimes louder than some of the scenes. The “town hall” scene was always very good, and we’d perk up to watch for the intensity of it. Again, not understanding it entirely in the context of the story. “Why does he call himself the Enemy if he says earlier he’s not?” We’d walk the halls of New World the next day mimicking the actor who played Dr. Stockmann, especially those lines from his speech in that scene. That was 13 years ago! Wow…Miller’s version feels fresh and succinct, no disrespect to the other version. It still brought back all those memories of that original intro. to this great play.
Rolling Ferro
Quotes:
Dr. Stockmann, holding his hands up to quiet her, and with a trembling mixture of trepidation and courageous insistence: I don’t know. But remember now, everybody. You are fighting for the truth, and that’s why you’re alone. And that makes you strong. We’re the strongest people in the world…The crowd is heard angrily calling outside. Another rock comes through a window. …and the strong must learn to be lonely!
Hovstad: I believe in democracy. When my readers are overwhelmingly against something, I’m not going to impose my will on the majority.
