Guía de estudio de An Enemy of the People

Dr. Thomas Stockmann

He refuses to withdraw his claims and chooses to stay despite financial pressure.

acts clave: 1, 4, 5

Katherine

Katherine supports her husband, Stockmann, when the newspaper abandons him, making family loyalty a practical commitment rather than an easy promise. Her worries about their livelihood also lead her to try to restrain him.

acts clave: 3, 5

Peter Stockmann

Peter Stockmann is the mayor, the Baths chairman, and Stockmann's brother, placing official authority inside the family conflict. He demands silence, threatens his brother's job, and eventually delivers his dismissal while suggesting a retraction.

acts clave: 1, 2, 5

Hovstad

Hovstad initially offers to publish Stockmann's discovery, but the newspaper abandons the doctor when repair costs emerge. His later offer of support for an imagined financial scheme suggests how closely his public commitments follow the paper's needs.

acts clave: 1, 3, 5

Petra

Petra is Stockmann's daughter and a teacher who objects to dishonest teaching, linking her work to questions of integrity. After losing her job, she continues to support her father and agrees to help educate the boys.

acts clave: 1, 5

Aslaksen

Aslaksen represents householders and promises tradesmen's support, but insists on moderation toward the authorities and refuses to lead support for Stockmann. His later participation in Hovstad's financial proposal suggests that his caution does not exclude opportunism.

acts clave: 2, 3, 5

Horster

Horster is a sailor who avoids politics, yet he provides the meeting room and protects Stockmann's family. After losing his command, he regrets nothing and offers them rooms, showing loyalty through practical help.

acts clave: 1, 4, 5

Truth and authority

Scientific confirmation does not secure acceptance of Stockmann's discovery, since Peter Stockmann answers it with demands for silence and threats to his job. Stockmann's eventual refusal to withdraw his claims shows the personal cost of maintaining truth against authority.

Dónde aparece: acts 1, 2, 5

Economic self-interest

The newspaper's reversal when repair costs emerge shows how financial interests can outweigh promised support for a discovery. Morten Kiil's use of the family's prospective inheritance creates another form of pressure, making money a means of demanding Stockmann's compliance.

Dónde aparece: acts 3, 5

Majority and truth

The meeting prevents Stockmann from explaining the Baths before condemning him, suggesting that collective judgment need not depend on hearing evidence. His attack on majority rule brings the difference between public power and truth into the open rather than resolving their conflict.

Dónde aparece: acts 4

Family loyalty

Katherine's support when the newspaper abandons Stockmann shows loyalty surviving the loss of public allies, while Petra remains supportive after losing her job. Katherine's continuing concern about their livelihood suggests that family loyalty can include restraint and disagreement as well as solidarity.

Dónde aparece: acts 3, 5

Independence and education

Petra's objection to dishonest teaching links education with the ability to preserve independent judgment rather than simply repeat accepted views. Her agreement to help Stockmann educate the boys suggests that their response to exclusion includes building a different kind of teaching.

Dónde aparece: acts 1, 5

Polluted water

The polluted water is a confirmed danger that Peter Stockmann demands be kept silent. It works as an image of harm that authority refuses to acknowledge.

Acts 1, 2

Baths shares

The Baths shares tie the family's prospective inheritance to Morten Kiil's demand that Stockmann clear his reputation. They work as a concrete image of money being used to pressure conviction.

Act 5

Blue and white ballots

The blue and white ballots give public condemnation a visible form. The lone dissenting vote suggests how thoroughly the meeting turns collective judgment into exclusion.

Act 4

Dr. Stockmann, Act 1. Stockmann speaks as scientific results confirm the polluted water at the Baths.

Mrs. Stockmann, Act 2. Katherine speaks while Peter Stockmann demands silence and threatens Stockmann's job. Her question shows the gap between having a sound claim and possessing the power to defend it.

Aslaksen, Act 3. Aslaksen points to subscribers when the newspaper abandons Stockmann over repair costs. The remark suggests that control of information follows financial dependence rather than an independent commitment to truth.

Dr. Stockmann, Act 4. Stockmann speaks after opponents block his explanation of the Baths. His distinction shows why winning collective support and establishing what is right are not the same achievement.

Dr. Stockmann, Act 5. Stockmann speaks as dismissals and financial pressure test his decision to stay. The declaration presents independence as strength, while his circumstances also show its practical costs.