《國民公敵》的主角醫生史塔克曼一直被視為正義鬥士或是劇作家抒發理想的代言人。劇中的部分角色包括醫生自己固然如此認定,但是他的哥哥市長和那些稱他為“人民公敵”的群眾卻不以為然。這兩者的「間隙」,透過深入的分析,可以顯現史塔克曼並非絕對的正直和正義,他的理想也只是個在世界中無法實現烏托邦。 另一種意義的「間隙」存在於語言和舞台實際狀況之間。本劇的對話表面上固然接近日常語言,但是並不能吻合觀眾所看到的形象,因此本劇已經脫離寫實主義的正軌。進一步看,本劇固然從一個嚴肅的社會問題開始,但是後來牽涉到難以掌握的真相與真理的問題,因此超越了一般寫實社會問題劇的的層次或關注。總之,本論文透過以上兩種間隙,力求對本劇提出新的解讀和評價。
Dr Stockmann, the protagonist in An Enemy of the People, has been viewed by critics as a justice fighter or as the spokesman of Ibsen as an idealist. Though many characters in the play, including Dr Stockmann himself, tend to agree with this assessment, his brother, the mayor, and those who call him "an enemy of the people” certainly have a different view. I argue that such a perception gap, when looked at in-depth, reveals that Dr Stockmann is hardly an unshakeable pillar of justice and that his ideals are only a utopia that cannot be realized in the real world. There is another kind of “gap” in the play, between how language is thought of, and how it is actually used. Though the dialogue in the play is life-like, this does not correspond to how the situation is perceived by the audience. This is a deviation from the standard practice of realism. Furthermore, though the play starts from a serious social problem, it deepens to explore the unfathomable problems of fundamental reality and truth. The play thus transcends the concerns of social drama. To conclude, based on my analysis of the two kinds of gaps, this thesis challenges the prevailing views of the play and attempts to offer a new interpretation and a new evaluation.