Characters An Enemy of the People Character List
Doctor Thomas Stockmann
A practicing medical doctor, the medical officer of the town baths, and the brother of the mayor, who got him the job at the baths. Stockmann is idealistic and excitable. For much of his life he was destitute and lived in the countryside; now he is happy to be fairly prosperous and living in a bustling town.
Mrs. Katherine Stockmann
Dr. Stockmann’s wife. She is loyal and practical and often encourages her husband to think of his family when he is being rash. Morten Kiil is her adoptive father, or grandfather, depending on translation.
Petra Stockmann
The daughter of Thomas and Katherine, Petra is as idealistic as her father. She is a hard-working teacher, and she is frustrated that the law requires her to teach things she doesn’t believe in.
Peter Stockmann
Peter is Dr. Stockmann’s brother. He is also chairman of the baths committee. He is a cautious but sometimes ruthless politician.
Hovstad
Hovstad is editor of The People’s Herald, the town’s leftist newspaper. Although slightly corrupt, he is at heart a political radical.
Aslaksen
Aslaksen is the newspaper’s printer. Because he lets the paper print on credit, he has a degree of editorial control. He is also the chairman of the homeowners association, which represents the town’s small business class, the majority of voters. He also has great influence with the Temperance Society, and he is a lover of moderation.
Billing
An assistant at the newspaper, he is a radical, like Hovstad, but he is also ambitious and plans to run for office. He is in some way courting Petra.
Captain Horster
A ship captain who has little interest in local politics, Horster provides the hall for Doctor Stockmann’s speech, but he is fired from his ship as a result.
Morten Kiil
A rich old man, Kiil owns several of the tanneries that Dr. Stockmann implicates in his water pollution report. He is the adoptive father or grandfather (depending on the translation) of Mrs. Stockmann, and his will assigns a good deal of wealth to her and her children.
Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People (Norwegian: En folkefiende) was published in 1882 and first performed in 1883. The play centers on Dr. Thomas Stockmann, who faces intense backlash from his town—including his brother, Mayor Peter Stockmann—after discovering the public baths are contaminated and trying to expose the truth.
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Key Characters in An Enemy of the People:
- Dr. Thomas Stockmann: The protagonist, a dedicated medical officer of the municipal baths who prioritizes public health.
- Peter Stockmann: Thomas’s brother, the Mayor and police chief, who prioritizes economic stability and town reputation over safety.
- Mrs. Stockmann: Thomas’s wife, who is caught between supporting her husband and maintaining the family’s security.
- Petra: Thomas’s daughter, a teacher who supports her father’s integrity.
- Hovstad: Editor of the local newspaper (The People’s Messenger), who initially supports the doctor but is motivated by political opportunism.
- Aslaksen: Publisher of the newspaper and leader of the local householders, representing the moderate, cautious, and “compact majority”.
- Morten Kiil: Mrs. Stockmann’s adoptive father, a wealthy man who controls the local tannery, which is actually the source of the contamination.