Societal Spiral of Silence, Work Ethics and Self-Affirmation in Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People and a Doll’s House: A Case of Ethical Leadership

Abstract

This paper explores how the intimidating power of the majority influences the socio-political and psychological aspects of society and how the majority attempts to silence the voices of minorities leading to the phenomenon of the spiral of social silence in Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People (1822) and his A Doll’s House (1879). This paper examines the plays in the light of Neumann’s theory of the Spiral of Silence (1974) and Steele’s self-affirmation theory (1988) and argues that the Self-affirmation theory serves as an instrument to break the social spiral of silence. The study used qualitative research methodology to offer content analysis of the plays. The article's findings suggest that Ibsen’s individuals with a strong concept of self-integrity and work ethic break the spiral of social silence once their self-concept is threatened. This paper concludes by stating that Ibsen’s characters, Nora from A Doll’s House and Dr. Stockmann from An Enemy of the People, suffer from delusions regarding their ethical leadership qualities at the beginning of the play. Still, these delusions finally break the spiral once people try to rip apart their self-integrity. Consequently, they burst into self-defense when they fear silence taking away their self-integrity. These research findings, by questioning and critically analyzing the social, political, and economic conditions of society through Ibsen’s characters, have future implications for further research. Further research can study the development of an environment congenial to social change and examine societal behaviours when some people raise their voices over social problems.