Narration of the Play from Petra's Point of View

It was a time when our town seemed to be flourishing in every way. We were all excited that a recently started project, the baths was making our town to prosper. The baths were health resort meant to bring a healing effect on the people who used them. It was a project started by my father in conjunction with the town’s authorities.

My father was working as the medical officer, whereas my uncle, mayor of the town was the chairman of the council governing the baths.
At such a time when the baths were the talk of the town, my father made a discovery that would change our lives. The baths were affected by deadly bacteria. This discovery infuriated my father because he felt that he had been short-changed in the construction of the baths. My uncle Peter and other authorities in the town did not implement the project as my father had designed it. He had tried to oppose their places even in writing to no avail.

My father made public his discovery on an evening in our house when we were in the company of free-thinking and independent minded family friends, including captain  Horster, Hovstad and Billings. All of us were excited and we pledged to give our support to him in pressurizing the authorities to rectify their mistakes. Hovstad even offered to print a note on the people’s messenger concerning the discovery. Billings went as for as to suggest some sort of appreciation for my father.

 Later, I went to the editorial office of the people’s messenger where Hovstad and Billing work. I had all along known their stand on most issues concerning life. Nevertheless, I was shocked beyond words to realize that Hovstad wanted to print articles in the newspaper which grossly went against his beliefs and opinions in order to capture the readers. The articles were from a book he had wanted are to translate from English to our Norwegian language. This was not characteristic of Hovstad but I was yet to receive a greater shock, which I did when he confessed that his support for my father was more precisely that his because of me. He didn’t support my father for his belief in my father’s truth. This confession made me to furious and being unable to stomach anything beyond it I walked out on him.

It was later that evening that I was informed on how Hovstad, Billing and Aslaksen has denounced my father to his face. My father is a highly principled man. Even in the face of the building opposition, he swore to proclaim the truth to the public. He therefore hired captain Houster’s apartment and called a public meeting. He didn’t achieve his intentions of calling the meeting. Instead the public was made to term him as an enemy of the people. I couldn’t believe my eyes to see Hovstad and Billing joining with Peter Stockmann and Aslaksen in support for the corrupt administration.

Having been declared enemies of the people, my family contemplated a self exile. This did not occur however but instead, Captain Horster offered us a place in   his house where we would engage in assisting the poor and educating them. We will forever be grateful to Horster for standing with us in such tough times.