The collected works of Henrik Ibsen, Vol. 08 (of 11)

In Short

This volume presents two of Henrik Ibsen's most famous realism plays, An Enemy of the People and The Wild Duck, bound in William Archer's classic English translation. Across both works, idealism clashes violently with society's self-interest. In one, an honest doctor exposes a poisoned town bath system and is vilified by his neighbors. In the other, an obsessive truth-teller shatters a fragile family's illusions, bringing tragedy to an innocent child. Together, they endure as relentless, clear-eyed examinations of human self-deception, compromise, and the high cost of principle.

The Story

The volume traces two distinct narratives connected by their obsession with honesty and its fallout. In An Enemy of the People, Dr. Thomas Stockmann discovers that the local baths—the economic lifeline of his coastal town—are contaminated by industrial waste. Confident that his fellow citizens will thank him, he prepares to publish his findings in the local paper. Instead, he meets immediate resistance. His brother, the town Burgomaster, worries about the astronomical cost of repairs and the ruin of tourism. Local journalists and small-business representatives like Aslaksen, who initially promise support, quickly turn against him when they realize the financial fallout.

At a chaotic public meeting, Stockmann is shouted down and branded an "enemy of the people." Rather than backing down, his crusade broadens from fixing contaminated water pipes to attacking the "pestilential basis of falsehood" upon which his whole society rests. Windows smashed, his job lost, and his family threatened, Stockmann rejects exile, resolving to stay and educate his sons in absolute independence.

The narrative shifts to dark psychological drama in The Wild Duck. Gregers Werle returns home to find his idealist principles offended by his wealthy father's past misdeeds. He discovers that his old friend, Hialmar Ekdal, has been set up in a photography business and married to Gina, a former servant whom Gregers suspects was his father's mistress. Unaware of these secrets, Hialmar lives comfortably, indulging in vague grand ambitions while Gina manages the business, and his near-blind daughter, Hedvig, tends to a captive wild duck in their cluttered attic garret.

Gregers believes that Hialmar and Gina's marriage is built on a lie and that total honesty will liberate them. He reveals the truth to Hialmar. Instead of inspiring nobility, the revelation breaks Hialmar's pride. He rejects Gina and turns cold toward Hedvig, questioning whether she is even his biological child. Desperate to win back her father's love, Hedvig listens to Gregers' suggestion that she sacrifice her most prized possession—the wild duck. Stepping into the attic with a pistol, the young girl shoots herself instead. Hialmar breaks down in grief, while Dr. Relling, a cynical neighbor, scoffs at Gregers' destructive idealist demands.

How It Unfolds

• The warning delivered — Dr. Stockmann receives confirmation that the town's lucrative health baths are built on polluted water sources.
• The coalition collapses — Local editors and middle-class representatives abandon Stockmann as soon as the Burgomaster explains the financial cost of repairs.
• The public exile — Stockmann addresses a town meeting, turns his fury on the "compact majority," and is declared an official enemy of the town.
• The stubborn stand — Surrounded by broken windows and lost jobs, Stockmann decides to stay, declaring that the strongest man stands most alone.
• The dinner invitation — Gregers Werle reunites with Hialmar Ekdal and learns how his wealthy father quietly set Hialmar up in business and marriage.
• The attic secret — Hialmar's family reveals their indoor garret, complete with poultry, pigeons, and a wounded wild duck living in a basket.
• The fatal confession — Driven by a moral crusade, Gregers reveals Gina's past to Hialmar, expecting to create a true marriage based on absolute truth.
• The innocent sacrifice — Hialmar rejects his daughter Hedvig, leading the confused child to shoot herself in the attic garret.

The People

• Dr. Thomas Stockmann wants to publish the truth about the polluted baths. Hindered by his brother and the cowardly townsfolk, he ends up completely isolated yet fiercely defiant.
• Peter Stockmann wants to preserve the town's finances and his political control. Standing against his brother's idealism, he succeeds in turning the public against Thomas.
• Hialmar Ekdal wants to be seen as a grand inventor and noble family man. Hindered by his own laziness and vanity, he crumbles when forced to confront his wife's past.
• Gregers Werle wants to purge society of deceit by enforcing absolute moral claims. Blocked by human fragility, his meddling leads directly to Hedvig's death.
• Gina Ekdal wants a quiet, practical life running the household and photography shop. Confronted by Gregers' crusade, she loses her daughter's life to a moralist's delusion.
• Hedvig Ekdal wants only her father's love and her pet wild duck. Confusion and rejection drive her to sacrifice herself in the attic.

In Its Own Voice

"I have said I would speak of the great discovery I have made within the last few days—the discovery that all our sources of spiritual life are poisoned, and that our whole society rests upon a pestilential basis of falsehood."

Dr. Stockmann confronts the town meeting after his scientific report on the baths is suppressed by local officials.

"He is suffering from an acute attack of integrity."

Dr. Relling explains Gregers Werle's destructive obsession with absolute truth to Gina Ekdal.

"whenever I come to realise suddenly—in a flash—what is in there, it always seems to me that the whole room and everything in it should be called ‘the depths of the sea.’"

Young Hedvig describes her imaginative connection to the strange garret where the wild duck lives.

What It's Really About

These plays explore the destructive clash between uncompromising ideals and practical human existence. An Enemy of the People questions whether democracy can function when the "compact majority" values financial security over truth. It asks if an honest individual can ever survive the pressure of public opinion. Conversely, The Wild Duck warns against the fanaticism of truth-telling itself. It suggests that most human beings rely on "life-lies"—comforting illusions—to survive, and that stripping those lies away without compassion destroys the innocent. Together, they demonstrate that both mob conformity and rigid moral crusades inflict terrible damage.

Why Read It Today

Ibsen remains striking because he refuses to offer easy comfort. Anyone interested in political tribalism, journalistic integrity, or family dynamics will find both plays startlingly modern. An Enemy of the People reads like a modern debate over public health, economic self-interest, and whistleblowing. The Wild Duck acts as a tragic warning against self-righteous purists who demand perfection from fragile human beings.

The reading experience is swift and intense, driven by sharp dialogue and airtight dramatic structure. Readers should be prepared for late nineteenth-century theatrical conventions, specific references to local Norwegian politics, and Victorian translation phrasing ("browbeating," "jacks-in-office"). Yet these historical details never obscure the emotional weight. The tension between Dr. Stockmann's fiery optimism and Hedvig's tragic end lingers long after the final page, forcing a reader to weigh the true cost of living in reality.

<ElicitationsGroup message="Where would you like to go next?"> <Elicitation label="Compare Ibsen's portrayal of truth in both plays" query="Compare how Ibsen treats the concept of absolute truth in An Enemy of the People versus The Wild Duck."/> <Elicitation label="Explore William Archer's translations and impact" query="Explain William Archer's role in translating and introducing Henrik Ibsen to the English-speaking world."/> <Elicitation label="Analyze Dr. Relling's concept of the 'life-lie'" query="Explain Dr. Relling's philosophy of the 'life-lie' in The Wild Duck and how it functions in the play."/> </ElicitationsGroup>