Ibsen NOW: A new look at “An Enemy of the People”

In An Enemy of the People, Ibsen provides several perspectives on ethics, integrity, and the collective pressure on the individual. Hans Grelland reflects on the difficulty of having to take on social responsibility and at the same time manage a simple individual life.

Hans Herlof Grelland is Professor Emeritus of Quantum Chemistry (Quantum Physics) at the University of Agder. He also has a Master's degree in Philosophy and is a senior lecturer in this subject. He has written several books in philosophy, including on Søren Kierkegaard and his influence on Henrik Ibsen and Edvard Munch, and on the philosophy of emotions. His main interests are the problem of interpretation in quantum physics and the theory of relativity, and existential philosophical questions.

An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen follows the physician Dr. Tomas Stockmann, who discovers that the water in the city's spa is polluted and harmful to health. When he tries to make the truth public, he encounters resistance from the city's leadership, the police and the press, who prefer to hide the information to protect the city's financial interests. The play deals with themes such as power struggles, corruption, freedom of the press and the conflict between truth, idealism and selfishness.