Dr. Stockmann: a free man?

Throughout An Enemy of the People, Dr. Stockmann prides himself on being a free man who acts independently of the opinions and wishes of others. He chooses to pursue the truth in the form of scientific findings instead of following the townspeople’s desire to promote the baths. At one point while arguing with his brother Peter, Dr. Stockmann boldly proclaims “There is only one single thing in the world a free man has no right to do…A free man has no right to soil himself with filth; he has no right to behave in a way that would justify his spitting in his own face,” (pg 275). In this way, Dr. Stockman is suggesting that all free men have a duty to be true to themselves and to follow their own convictions instead of feeling obligated to join with the popular opinion. But a free man can also change his own course of action without trepidation, which is something Dr. Stockman seems incapable of performing. He is so rooted in his views of the danger of the baths that he is, in a sense, trapped by his scientific findings. For example, Dr. Stockmann eventually comes to realize that exposing the flaws of the baths will have ill effects on his family in the form of the entire town turning against his household, but he cannot seem to break away from, or at least modify the presentation of, his controversial ideas. Thus, Dr. Stockmann is a free man in one sense but not the other. He is strong in his convictions and free from the influence of others’ dissuasion, but he is so engaged in his own ideas that he is inseparable from them.

This concept of being independent of the wishes of others and totally inseparable from one’s own ideas is present in other literature as well, specifically Robert Bolt’s play, A Man for All Seasons. The main character in this play, Sir Thomas More, is eventually executed for refusing to take an oath declaring King Henry VIII the head of the Church of England. Like Dr. Stockmann, Thomas More remains steadfast in his ideals even when there is enormous pressure to do otherwise. It is as if both Thomas More and Dr. Stockmann are unable to part from their prior beliefs, even as the situations surrounding them collapse. The obstinacy of both of these characters directly endangers their families, and each wife makes several unsuccessfully attempts to convince her husband to modify his stance. Thus, the refusal of Thomas More and Dr. Stockmann to part with their convictions, even with the wellbeing of their respective families on the line, illustrates how a man can be free from the influence of others, but not always free from his own thoughts.