An enemy of the people
Subtitle: by Henrik Ibsen An Adaptation for the american stage in three acts by Arthur Miler
By: by Henrik Ibsen An Adaptation for the American Stage in Three Acts by Arthur Miler
Contributors: Miller, Arthur, 1915-
Edition: Acting ed.
Publisher: Dramatists Play Service
Published: 1951
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 80
ISBN-13: 9785102163952
Description: An 1882 play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. Ibsen wrote it in response to the public outcry against his previous play, Ghosts, which challenged the hypocrisy of 19th-century morality. According to Ellen Mortensen (Ibsen Studies v.7, 169), the words "scandalous, degenerate," and "immoral" were hurled at both Ghosts and its author because it openly discussed adultery and syphilis. Therefore, An Enemy of the People tells the story of a man who dares to speak an unpalatable truth, and is punished for it. However, Ibsen took a somewhat skeptical view of his protagonist, suggesting that he may have gone too far in his zeal to tell the truth. Ibsen wrote to his publisher: "I am still uncertain as to whether I should call [An Enemy of the People] a comedy or a straight drama. It may [have] many traits of comedy, but it also is based on a serious idea."