[eight] 1883

1883, the year Henrik Ibsen published his play An Enemy of the People.

The same year Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch (independently) discovered the bacteria “Vibrio cholerae” or Cholera, a water-borne disease that causes severe dehydration and electrolyte loss. If the bacterial infection is not treated quickly, it can often be fatal.

Another interesting event in 1883 was the death of the infamous political theorist, Karl Marx.

So what are the chances that the famous playwright Henrik Ibsen published his play An Enemy of the People the same year cholera was discovered and the great political figure Karl Marx died—especially when Dr. Stockman’s work to educate the populace about the contamination of the water at the Baths by “infusoria” (i.e. bacteriaàcholera) and his evolution from a man with a comfortable income, home, etc. into a political “radical” by the end of the play (like Karl Marx). One in three. It seems that all the great figures of literature (Ibsen, Byatt, Foucault, etc.) will continuously weave a web that traps readers, viewers, etc. in a magnificent tapestry that spans the width and breadth of human history. 





“Robert Koch” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Hermann_Robert_Koch                                               “Cholera” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholera                                                                                                                     “Karl Marx” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Marx
“An Enemy of the People” http://www.uww.edu/youngauditorium/season/0910anenemyofpeople.html