very well—the powers that be are not over ready to adopt suggestions
from outsiders. So I think it wouldn’t be amiss if we made some sort of
a demonstration.
HOVSTAD.
Precisely my opinion.
DR. STOCKMANN.
A demonstration, you say? But in what way would you demonstrate?
ASLAKSEN.
Of course with great moderation, Doctor. I always insist upon
moderation; for moderation is a citizen’s first virtue—at least that’s
my way of thinking.
DR. STOCKMANN.
We all know that, Mr. Aslaksen.
ASLAKSEN.
Yes, I think my moderation is generally recognised. And this affair of
the water-works is very important for us small middle-class men. The
Baths bid fair to become, as you might say, a little gold-mine for the
town. We shall all have to live by the Baths, especially we
house-owners. So we want to support the Baths all we can; and as I am
Chairman of the House-owners' Association——
DR. STOCKMANN.
Well——?
ASLAKSEN.
And as I'm an active worker for the Temperance[9] Society—of course you
know, Doctor, that I'm a temperance man?
DR. STOCKMANN.
To be sure, to be sure.
ASLAKSEN.
Well, you’ll understand that I come in contact with a great many people.
And as I'm known to be a prudent and law-abiding citizen, as you
yourself remarked, Doctor, I have a certain influence in the town, and
hold some power in my hands—though I say it that shouldn’t.
DR. STOCKMANN.
I know that very well, Mr. Aslaksen.
ASLAKSEN.
Well then, you see—it would be easy for me to get up an address, if it
came to a pinch.
DR. STOCKMANN.
An address?
ASLAKSEN.
Yes, a kind of vote of thanks to you, from the citizens of the town, for
your action in a matter of such general concern. Of course it will have
to be drawn up with all fitting moderation, so as to give no offence to
the authorities and parties in power. But so long as we’re careful about
that, no one can take it ill, I should think.
HOVSTAD.
Well, even if they didn’t particularly like it——
ASLAKSEN.
No no no; no offence to the powers that be, Mr. Hovstad. No opposition
to people that can take it out of us again so easily. I've had enough of
that in my time; no good ever comes of it. But no one can object to the
free but temperate expression of a citizen’s opinion.
DR. STOCKMANN.
[_Shaking his hand._] I can’t tell you, my dear Mr. Aslaksen, how
heartily it delights me to find so much support among my fellow
townsmen. I'm so happy—so happy! Come, you’ll have a glass of sherry?
Eh?
ASLAKSEN.
No, thank you; I never touch spirituous liquors.
DR. STOCKMANN.
Well, then, a glass of beer—what do you say to that?
ASLAKSEN.
Thanks, not that either, Doctor. I never take anything so early in the
day. And now I'll be off round the town, and talk to some of the
house-owners, and prepare public opinion.
DR. STOCKMANN.
It’s extremely kind of you, Mr. Aslaksen; but I really cannot get it
into my head that all these preparations are necessary. The affair seems
to me so simple and self-evident.
ASLAKSEN.
The authorities always move slowly, Doctor—God forbid I should blame
them for it——
HOVSTAD.
We’ll stir them up in the paper to-morrow, Aslaksen.
ASLAKSEN.
No violence, Mr. Hovstad. Proceed with moderation, or you’ll do nothing
with them. Take my advice; I've picked up experience in the school of
life.—And now I'll say good morning, Doctor. You know now that at least
you have us small middle-class men behind you, solid as a wall. You have
the compact majority on your side, Doctor.
DR. STOCKMANN.
Many thanks, my dear Mr. ASLAKSEN. [_Holds out his hand._] Good-bye,
good-bye.
ASLAKSEN.
Are you coming to the office, Mr. Hovstad?
HOVSTAD.
I shall come on presently. I have still one or two things to arrange.
ASLAKSEN.
Very well.
[_Bows and goes. DR. STOCKMANN accompanies him into the hall._
HOVSTAD.
[_As the DOCTOR re-enters._] Well, what do you say to that, Doctor?
Don’t you think it is high time we should give all this weak-kneed,
half-hearted cowardice a good shaking up?
DR. STOCKMANN.
Are you speaking of Aslaksen?
HOVSTAD.
Yes, I am. He’s a decent enough fellow, but he’s one of those who are
sunk in the swamp. And most people here are just like him; they are for
ever wavering and wobbling from side to side; what with scruples and
misgivings, they never dare advance a step.
DR. STOCKMANN.
Yes, but Aslaksen seems to me thoroughly well-intentioned.
HOVSTAD.
There is one thing I value more than good intentions, and that is an
attitude of manly self-reliance.
DR. STOCKMANN.
There I am quite with you.
HOVSTAD.
So I am going to seize this opportunity, and try whether I can’t for
once put a little grit into their good intentions. The worship of
authority must be rooted up in this town. This gross, inexcusable
blunder of the waterworks must be brought home clearly to every voter.
DR. STOCKMANN.
Very well. If you think it’s for the good of the community, so be it;
but not till I have spoken to my brother.
HOVSTAD.
At all events, I shall be writing my leader in the meantime. And if the
Burgomaster won’t take the matter up——
DR. STOCKMANN.
But how can you conceive his refusing?
HOVSTAD.
Oh, it’s not inconceivable. And then——
DR. STOCKMANN.
Well then, I promise you—; look here—in that case you may print my
paper—put it in just as it is.
HOVSTAD.
May I? Is that a promise?
DR. STOCKMANN.
[_Handing him the manuscript._] There it is; take it with you. You may
as well read it in any case; you can return it to me afterwards.
HOVSTAD.
Very good; I shall do so. And now, good-bye, Doctor.
DR. STOCKMANN.
Good-bye, good-bye. You’ll see it will all go smoothly, Mr. Hovstad—as
smoothly as possible.
HOVSTAD.
H'm—we shall see.
[_Bows and goes out through the hall._
*/
DR. STOCKMANN.
[_Going to the dining-room door and looking in._] Katrina! Hallo! are
you back, Petra?
PETRA.
[_Entering._] Yes, I've just got back from school.
MRS. STOCKMANN.
[_Entering._] Hasn’t he been here yet?
DR. STOCKMANN.
Peter? No; but I have been having a long talk with Hovstad. He’s quite
enthusiastic about my discovery. It turns out to be of much wider import
than I thought at first. So he has placed his paper at my disposal, if I
should require it.
MRS. STOCKMANN.
Do you think you will?
DR. STOCKMANN.
Not I! But at the same time, one cannot but be proud to know that the
enlightened, independent press is on one’s side. And what do you think?
I have had a visit from the Chairman of the House-owners' Association
too.
MRS. STOCKMANN.
Really? What did he want?
DR. STOCKMANN.
To assure me of his support. They will all stand by me at a pinch.
Katrina, do you know what I have behind me?
MRS. STOCKMANN.
Behind you? No. What have you behind you?
DR. STOCKMANN.
The compact majority!
MRS. STOCKMANN.
Oh! Is that good for you, Thomas?
DR. STOCKMANN.
Yes, indeed; I should think it _was_ good. [_Rubbing his hands as he
walks up and down._] Great God! what a delight it is to feel oneself in
such brotherly unison with one’s fellow townsmen?
PETRA.
And to do so much that’s good and useful, father!
DR. STOCKMANN.
And all for one’s native town, too!
MRS. STOCKMANN.
There’s the bell.
DR. STOCKMANN.
That must be he. [_Knock at the door._] Come in!
_Enter BURGOMASTER STOCKMANN from the hall._
BURGOMASTER.
Good morning.
DR. STOCKMANN.
I'm glad to see you, Peter.
MRS. STOCKMANN.
Good morning, brother-in-law. How are you?
BURGOMASTER.
Oh, thanks, so-so. [_To the DOCTOR._] Yesterday evening, after office
hours, I received from you a dissertation upon the state of the water at
the Baths.
DR. STOCKMANN.
Yes. Have you read it?
BURGOMASTER.
I have.
DR. STOCKMANN.
And what do you think of the affair?
BURGOMASTER.
H'm— _With a sidelong glance._
MRS. STOCKMANN.
Come, Petra.
[_She and PETRA go into the room on the left._
BURGOMASTER.
[_After a pause._] Was it necessary to make all these investigations
behind my back?
DR. STOCKMANN.
Yes, till I was absolutely certain, I——
BURGOMASTER.
And are you absolutely certain now?
DR. STOCKMANN.
My paper must surely have convinced you of that.
BURGOMASTER.
Is it your intention to submit this statement to the Board of Directors,
as a sort of official document?
DR. STOCKMANN.
Of course. Something must be done in the matter, and that promptly.
BURGOMASTER.
As usual, you use very strong expressions in your statement. Amongst
other things, you say that what we offer our visitors is a slow poison.
DR. STOCKMANN.
Why, Peter, what else can it be called? Only think—poisoned water both
internally and externally! And that to poor invalids who come to us in
all confidence, and pay us handsomely to cure them!
BURGOMASTER.
And then you announce as your conclusion that we must build a sewer to
carry off the alleged impurities from the Mill Dale, and must re-lay all
the water-pipes.
DR. STOCKMANN.
Yes. Can you suggest any other plan?—I know of none.
BURGOMASTER.
I found a pretext for looking in at the town engineer’s this morning,
and—in a half-jesting way—I mentioned these alterations as things we
might possibly have to consider, at some future time.
DR. STOCKMANN.
At some future time!
BURGOMASTER.
Of course he smiled at what he thought my extravagance. Have you taken
the trouble to think what your proposed alterations would cost? From
what the engineer said, I gathered that the expenses would probably
mount up to several hundred thousand crowns.
DR. STOCKMANN.
So much as that?
BURGOMASTER.
Yes. But that is not the worst. The work would take at least two years.
DR. STOCKMANN.
Two years! Do you mean to say two whole years?
BURGOMASTER.
At least. And what are we to do with the Baths in the meanwhile? Are we
to close them? We should have no alternative. Do you think any one would
come here, if it got abroad that the water was pestilential?
DR. STOCKMANN.
But, Peter, that’s precisely what it is.
BURGOMASTER.
And all this now, just now, when the Baths are doing so well!
Neighbouring towns, too, are not without their claims to rank as
health-resorts. Do you think they would not at once set to work to
divert the full stream of visitors to themselves? Undoubtedly they
would; and we should be left stranded. We should probably have to give
up the whole costly undertaking; and so you would have ruined your
native town.
DR. STOCKMANN.
I—ruined——!
BURGOMASTER.
It is only through the Baths that the town has any future worth speaking
of. You surely know that as well as I do.
DR. STOCKMANN.
Then what do you think should be done?
BURGOMASTER.
I have not succeeded in convincing myself that the condition of the
water at the Baths is as serious as your statement represents.
DR. STOCKMANN.
I tell you it’s if anything worse—or will be in the summer, when the hot
weather sets in.
BURGOMASTER.
I repeat that I believe you exaggerate greatly. A competent physician
should know what measures to take—he should be able to obviate
deleterious influences, and to counteract them in case they should make
themselves unmistakably felt.
DR. STOCKMANN.
Indeed—? And then—?
BURGOMASTER.
The existing water-works are, once for all, a fact, and must naturally
be treated as such. But when the time comes, the Directors will probably
not be indisposed to consider whether it may not be possible, without
unreasonable pecuniary sacrifices, to introduce certain improvements.
DR. STOCKMANN.
And do you imagine I could ever be a party to such dishonesty?
BURGOMASTER.
Dishonesty?
DR. STOCKMANN.
Yes, it would be dishonesty—a fraud, a lie, an absolute crime against
the public, against society as a whole!
BURGOMASTER.
I have not, as I before remarked, been able to convince myself that
there is really any such imminent danger.
DR. STOCKMANN.
You have! You must have! I know that my demonstration is absolutely
clear and convincing. And you understand it perfectly, Peter, only you
won’t admit it. It was you who insisted that both the Bath-buildings and
the water-works should be placed where they now are; and it’s
_that_—it’s that damned blunder that you won’t confess. Pshaw! Do you
think I don’t see through you?
BURGOMASTER.
And even it were so? If I do watch over my reputation with a certain
anxiety, I do it for the good of the town. Without moral authority I
cannot guide and direct affairs in the way I consider most conducive to
the general welfare. Therefore—and on various other grounds—it is of
great moment to me that your statement should not be submitted to the
Board of Directors. It must be kept back, for the good of the community.
Later on I will bring up the matter for discussion, and we will do the
best we can, quietly; but not a word, not a whisper, of this unfortunate
business must come to the public ears.
DR. STOCKMANN.
But it can’t be prevented now, my dear Peter.
BURGOMASTER.
It must and shall be prevented.
DR. STOCKMANN.
It can’t be, I tell you; far too many people know about it already.
BURGOMASTER.
Know about it! Who? Surely not those fellows on the _People’s
Messenger_——?
DR. STOCKMANN.
Oh yes; they know. The liberal, independent press will take good care
that you do your duty.
BURGOMASTER.
[_After a short pause._] You are an amazingly reckless man, Thomas. Have
not you reflected what the consequences of this may be to yourself?
DR. STOCKMANN.
Consequences?—Consequences to me?
BURGOMASTER.
Yes—to you and yours.
DR. STOCKMANN.
What the devil do you mean?
BURGOMASTER.
I believe I have always shown myself ready and willing to lend you a
helping hand.
DR. STOCKMANN.
Yes, you have, and I thank you for it.
BURGOMASTER.
I ask for no thanks. Indeed, I was in some measure forced to act as I
did—for my own sake. I always hoped I should be able to keep you a
little in check, if I helped to improve your pecuniary position.
DR. STOCKMANN.
What! So it was only for your own sake——!
BURGOMASTER.
In a measure, I say. It is painful for a man in an official position,
when his nearest relative goes and compromises himself time after time.
DR. STOCKMANN.
And you think I do that?
BURGOMASTER.
Yes, unfortunately, you do, without knowing it. Yours is a turbulent,
unruly, rebellious spirit. And then you have an unhappy propensity for
rushing into print upon every possible and impossible occasion. You no
sooner hit upon an idea than you must needs write a newspaper article or
a whole pamphlet about it.
DR. STOCKMANN.
Isn’t it a citizen’s duty, when he has conceived a new idea, to
communicate it to the public!
BURGOMASTER.
Oh, the public has no need for new ideas. The public gets on best with
the good old recognised ideas it has already.
DR. STOCKMANN.
You say that right out!
BURGOMASTER.
Yes, I must speak frankly to you for once. Hitherto I have tried to
avoid it, for I know how irritable you are; but now I must tell you the
truth, Thomas. You have no conception how much you injure yourself by
your officiousness. You complain of the authorities, ay, of the
Government itself—you cry them down and maintain that you have been
slighted, persecuted. But what else can you expect, with your impossible
disposition?
DR. STOCKMANN.
Oh, indeed! So I am impossible, am I?
BURGOMASTER.
Yes, Thomas, you are an impossible man to work with. I know that from
experience. You have no consideration for any one or any thing; you seem
quite to forget that you have me to thank for your position as medical
officer of the Baths——
DR. STOCKMANN.
It was mine by right! Mine, and no one else’s! I was the first to
discover the town’s capabilities as a watering-place; I saw them, and,
at that time, I alone. For years I fought single-handed for this idea of
mine; I wrote and wrote——
BURGOMASTER.
No doubt; but then the right time had not come. Of course, in that
out-of-the-world corner, you could not judge of that. As soon as the
propitious moment arrived, I—and others—took the matter in hand——
DR. STOCKMANN.
Yes, and you went and bungled the whole of my glorious plan. Oh, we see
now what a set of wiseacres you were!
BURGOMASTER.
All _I_ can see is that you are again seeking an outlet for your
pugnacity. You want to make an onslaught on your superiors—that is an
old habit of yours. You cannot endure any authority over you; you look
askance at any one who holds a higher post than your own; you regard him
as a personal enemy—and then you care nothing what kind of weapon you
use against him. But now I have shown you how much is at stake for the
town, and consequently for me too. And therefore I warn you, Thomas,
that I am inexorable in the demand I am about to make of you!
DR. STOCKMANN.
What demand?
BURGOMASTER.
As you have not had the sense to refrain from chattering to outsiders
about this delicate business, which should have been kept an official
secret, of course it cannot now be hushed up. All sorts of rumours will
get abroad, and evil-disposed persons will invent all sorts of additions
to them. It will therefore be necessary for you publicly to contradict
these rumours.
DR. STOCKMANN.
I! How? I don’t understand you?
BURGOMASTER.
We expect that, after further investigation, you will come to the
conclusion that the affair is not nearly so serious or pressing as you
had at first imagined.
DR. STOCKMANN.
Aha! So you expect that?
BURGOMASTER.
Furthermore, we expect you to express your confidence that the Board of
Directors will thoroughly and conscientiously carry out all measures for
the remedying of any possible defects.
DR. STOCKMANN.
Yes, but that you’ll never be able to do, so long as you go on tinkering
and patching. I tell you that, Peter; and it’s my deepest, sincerest
conviction——
BURGOMASTER.
As an official, you have no right to hold any individual conviction.
DR. STOCKMANN.
[_Starting._] No right to——?
BURGOMASTER.
As an official, I say. In your private capacity, of course, it is
another matter. But as a subordinate official of the Baths, you have no
right to express any conviction at issue with that of your superiors.
DR. STOCKMANN.
This is too much! I, a doctor, a man of science, have no right to——!
BURGOMASTER.
The matter in question is not a purely scientific one; it is a complex
affair; it has both a technical and an economic side.
DR. STOCKMANN.
What the devil do I care what it is! I will be free to speak my mind
upon any subject under the sun!
BURGOMASTER.
As you please—so long as it does not concern the Baths. With them we
forbid you to meddle.
DR. STOCKMANN.
[_Shouts._] You forbid——! You! A set of——
BURGOMASTER.
_I_ forbid it—_I_, your chief; and when I issue an order, you have
simply to obey.
DR. STOCKMANN.
[_Controlling himself._] Upon my word, Peter, if you weren’t my
brother——
PETRA.
[_Tears open the door._] Father, you shan’t submit to this!
MRS. STOCKMANN.
[_Following her._] Petra, Petra!
BURGOMASTER.
Ah! So we have been listening!
MRS. STOCKMANN.
The partition is so thin, we couldn’t help——
PETRA.
I stood and listened on purpose.
BURGOMASTER.
Well, on the whole, I am not sorry——
DR. STOCKMANN.
[_Coming nearer to him._] You spoke to me of forbidding and obeying——
BURGOMASTER.
You have forced me to adopt that tone.
DR. STOCKMANN.
And am I to give myself the lie, in a public declaration?
BURGOMASTER.
We consider it absolutely necessary that you should issue a statement in
the terms indicated.
DR. STOCKMANN.
And if I do not obey?
BURGOMASTER.
Then we shall ourselves put forth a statement to reassure the public.
DR. STOCKMANN.
Well and good; then I shall write against you. I shall stick to my point
and prove that _I_ am right, and you wrong. And what will you do then?
BURGOMASTER.
Then I shall be unable to prevent your dismissal.
DR. STOCKMANN.
What——!
PETRA.
Father! Dismissal!
MRS. STOCKMANN.
Dismissal!
BURGOMASTER.
Your dismissal from the Baths. I shall be compelled to move that notice
be given you at once, and that you have henceforth no connection
whatever with the Baths.
DR. STOCKMANN.
You would dare to do that!
BURGOMASTER.
It is you who are playing the daring game.
PETRA.
Uncle, this is a shameful way to treat a man like father!
MRS. STOCKMANN.
Do be quiet, Petra!
BURGOMASTER.
[_Looking at PETRA._] Aha! We have opinions of our own already, eh? To
be sure, to be sure! [_To MRS. STOCKMANN._] Sister-in-law, you are
presumably the most rational member of this household. Use all your
influence with your husband; try to make him realise what all this will
involve both for his family——
DR. STOCKMANN.
My family concerns myself alone!
BURGOMASTER.
——both for his family, I say, and for the town he lives in.
DR. STOCKMANN.
It is I that have the real good of the town at heart! I want to lay bare
the evils that, sooner or later, must come to light. Ah! You shall see
whether I love my native town.
BURGOMASTER.
You, who, in your blind obstinacy, want to cut off the town’s chief
source of prosperity!
DR. STOCKMANN.
That source is poisoned, man! Are you mad? We live by trafficking in
filth and corruption! The whole of our flourishing social life is rooted
in a lie!
BURGOMASTER.
Idle fancies—or worse. The man who scatters broadcast such offensive
insinuations against his native place must be an enemy of society.
DR. STOCKMANN.
[_Going towards him._] You dare to——!
MRS. STOCKMANN.
[_Throwing herself between them._] Thomas!
PETRA.
[_Seizing her father’s arm._] Keep calm, father!
BURGOMASTER.
I will not expose myself to violence. You have had your warning now.
Reflect upon what is due to yourself and to your family. Good-bye.
[_He goes._
*/
DR. STOCKMANN.
[_Walking up and down._] And I must put up with such treatment! In my
own house, Katrina! What do you say to that!
MRS. STOCKMANN.
Indeed, it’s a shame and a disgrace, Thomas——
PETRA.
Oh, if I could only get hold of uncle——!
DR. STOCKMANN.
It’s my own fault. I ought to have stood up against them long ago—to
have shown my teeth—and used them too!—And to be called an enemy of
society! Me! I won’t bear it; by Heaven, I won’t!
MRS. STOCKMANN.
But my dear Thomas, after all, your brother has the power——
DR. STOCKMANN.
Yes, but I have the right.
MRS. STOCKMANN.
Ah yes, right, right! What good does it do to have the right, if you
haven’t any might?
PETRA.
Oh, mother—how can you talk so?
DR. STOCKMANN.
What! No good, in a free community, to have right on your side? What an
absurd idea, Katrina! And besides—haven’t I the free and independent
press before me—and the compact majority at my back? That is might
enough, I should think!
MRS. STOCKMANN.
Why, good heavens, Thomas! you’re surely not thinking of——?
DR. STOCKMANN.
What am I not thinking of?
MRS. STOCKMANN.
——of setting yourself up against your brother, I mean.
DR. STOCKMANN.
What the devil would you have me do, if not stick to what is right and
true?
PETRA.
Yes, that’s what I should like to know?
MRS. STOCKMANN.
But it will be of no earthly use. If they won’t, they won’t.
DR. STOCKMANN.
Ho-ho, Katrina! just wait a while, and you shall see whether I can fight
my battles to the end.
MRS. STOCKMANN.
Yes, to the end of getting your dismissal; that is what will happen.
DR. STOCKMANN.
Well then, I shall at any rate have done my duty towards the public,
towards society—I who am called an enemy of society!
MRS. STOCKMANN.
But towards your family, Thomas? Towards us at home? Do you think _that_
is doing your duty towards those who are dependent on you?
PETRA.
Oh, mother, don’t always think first of us.
MRS. STOCKMANN.
Yes, it’s easy for you to talk; you can stand alone if need be.—But
remember the boys, Thomas; and think a little of yourself too, and of
me——
DR. STOCKMANN.
You’re surely out of your senses, Katrina! If I were to be such a
pitiful coward as to knuckle under to this Peter and his confounded
crew—should I ever have another happy hour in all my life?
MRS. STOCKMANN.
I don’t know about that; but God preserve us from the happiness we shall
all of us have if you persist in defying them. There you will be again,
with nothing to live on, with no regular income. I should have thought
we had had enough of that in the old days. Remember them, Thomas; think
of what it all means.
DR. STOCKMANN.
[_Struggling with himself and clenching his hands._] And this is what
these jacks-in-office can bring upon a free and honest man! Isn’t it
revolting, Katrina?
MRS. STOCKMANN.
Yes, no doubt they are treating you shamefully. But God knows there’s
plenty of injustice one must just submit to in this world.—Here are the
boys, Thomas. Look at them! What is to become of them? Oh no, no! you
can never have the heart——
EILIF _and_ MORTEN, _with school-books, have meanwhile entered._
DR. STOCKMANN.