An Enemy of the People Post 3

Strawberry Springs in Denver, CO.

I understand the severely harmful effect that the polluted water could have on the resort destination, Kirsten Springs.  I have traveled to Strawberry Springs, a non-sulfur, hot springs in Colorado.  The hot springs not only brings money to the owner of the resort, but it also spurs other businesses which service tourists who dine, sleep, and shop as well as engage in other forms of entertainment in the hot springs town.  Kirsten Springs is the soul of the town.  A minor pollution problem should not ruin a small town’s hope of becoming a resort destination, “to make their mark on the map,” as Peter Stockmann, the mayor, emphasizes.  Beginning my adventure in reading this book, I started out with the mentality that I was going to feel sorry for Dr. Stockmann and his family.  However, with the closing act, my mindset changed.  During the Third Act, Morten Kiil admits that it is his tannery that is polluting the water, and he wants to preserve his family’s name.   Living on a family farm, I too understand the importance of protecting the family’s monies and its reputation.  However, although Kiil tries to prevent Dr. Stockmann from being selfish and tries to prove his brother wrong by threatening Dr. Stockmann with giving his daughter’s (Catherine’s) inheritance to a charity if Dr. Stockmann doesn’t reconsider his claim that the spring water is polluted, I think that Kiil’s tactic is appropriate.  Since the stocks are technically Kiil’s property, Kiil doesn’t have to leave any inheritance for his daughter anyway.   If Kiil’s son-in-law wants access to his wife’s inheritance then he should obey Kiil’s demands.  Morten Kiil is justified in threatening that he will only give the shares to Dr. Stockmann’s wife, Kiil’s daughter, Catherine, if Dr. Stockmann reconsiders his report.  I agree with Kiil who attempts to convince Dr. Stockmann to take another test because there could have been something strange with the water that day. 

Morten Kiil suggests that Dr. Stockmann should take another water contamination test. 

 I also believe that another possibility is that the contamination is coming from diseases that other people caught from other places just like the people from Norway who got sick after being in the springs.  I also think that it is feasible that another different possibility is causing human sickness: people could have consumed poisoned food that they could have eaten at a restaurant, prior to entering the springs.  I think that Dr. Stockmann needs to consider Kiil’s suggestion that if the water is truly polluted that the town could use disinfectants to kill the bacteria that made the people get sick. 

A type of disinfectant that Dr. Stockmann could have used.

 Even Hovstad, through the newspaper’s publicity, offers to protect Dr. Stockmann’s family, and I think that Dr. Stockmann should keep a more open mind about the support that these people are trying to offer him.  I think that with these possible explanations for the spa problem, Dr. Stockmann would not be giving up the truth by restarting the test but possibly getting the real truth of the current state of the water.  I believe that once Dr. Stockmann gets the results that he will realize that he has overreacted and that he is desperately trying to get revenge on his brother for not building the Health Institute where he suggested in the beginning.  I do commend Dr. Stockmann for his bravery in telling the truth and not giving in to the bribery and threatening pressure from Kiil to throw away Dr. Stockmann’s wife’s inheritance; however I think that Dr. Stockmann should be more open to ideas which would help him have a wider perspective on the hot spring’s water system.  If Dr. Stockmann conducts more tests, he could save his reputation, as well as his family's financial well being.  In addition, the extortion from the community who fired Dr. Stockmann, fired his daughter Petra, vandalized his home, and tormented his children would eventually stop.  Dr. Stockmann doesn’t need to lose his sense of integrity as an individual, but needs to consider other possibilities.