Act III
|
| | (THE SAME SCENE.—The table has been placed in the middle of the | 1 | |
| | stage, with chairs around it. A lamp is burning on the table. The | |
| | door into the hall stands open. Dance music is heard in the room | |
| | above. Mrs. LINDE is sitting at the table idly turning over the | |
| | leaves of a book; she tries to read, but does not seem able to | 5 | |
| | collect her thoughts. Every now and then she listens intently for | |
| | a sound at the outer door.) | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde (looking at her watch). Not yet—and the time is | |
| | nearly up. If only he does not—. (Listens again.) Ah, there he is. | |
| | (Goes into the hall and opens the outer door carefully. | 10 | |
| | Light footsteps are heard on the stairs. She whispers.) | |
| | Come in. There is no one here. | |
|
|
| | Krogstad (in the doorway). I found a note from you at home. What | |
| | does this mean? | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. It is absolutely necessary that I should have a talk | 15 | |
| | with you. | |
|
|
| | Krogstad. Really? And is it absolutely necessary that it should | |
| | be here? | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. It is impossible where I live; there is no private | |
| | entrance to my rooms. Come in; we are quite alone. The maid is | 20 | |
| | asleep, and the Helmers are at the dance upstairs. | |
|
|
| | Krogstad (coming into the room). Are the Helmers really at a | |
| | dance tonight? | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. Yes, why not? | |
|
|
| | Krogstad. Certainly—why not? | 25 | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. Now, Nils, let us have a talk. | |
|
|
| | Krogstad. Can we two have anything to talk about? | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. We have a great deal to talk about. | |
|
|
| | Krogstad. I shouldn't have thought so. | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. No, you have never properly understood me. | 30 | |
|
|
| | Krogstad. Was there anything else to understand except what | |
| | was obvious to all the world—a heartless woman jilts a man | |
| | when a more lucrative chance turns up? | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. Do you believe I am as absolutely heartless as | |
| | all that? And do you believe that I did it with a light heart? | 35 | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. Nils, did you really think that? | |
|
|
| | Krogstad. If it were as you say, why did you write to me as you | |
| | did at the time? | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. I could do nothing else. As I had to break with you, | 40 | |
| | it was my duty also to put an end to all that you felt for me. | |
|
|
| | Krogstad (wringing his hands). So that was it. And all this—only | |
| | for the sake of money! | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. You must not forget that I had a helpless mother and | |
| | two little brothers. We couldn't wait for you, Nils; your | 45 | |
| | prospects seemed hopeless then. | |
|
|
| | Krogstad. That may be so, but you had no right to throw me over | |
| | for anyone else's sake. | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. Indeed I don't know. Many a time did I ask myself if | |
| | I had the right to do it. | 50 | |
|
|
| | Krogstad (more gently). When I lost you, it was as if all the | |
| | solid ground went from under my feet. Look at me now—I am a shipwrecked | |
| | man clinging to a bit of wreckage. | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. But help may be near. | |
|
|
| | Krogstad. It was near; but then you came and stood in my way. | 55 | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. Unintentionally, Nils. It was only today that I | |
| | learned it was your place I was going to take in the Bank. | |
|
|
| | Krogstad. I believe you, if you say so. But now that you know it, | |
| | are you not going to give it up to me? | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. No, because that would not benefit you in the least. | 60 | |
|
|
| | Krogstad. Oh, benefit, benefit—I would have done it whether or no. | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. I have learned to act prudently. Life, and hard, bitter | |
| | necessity have taught me that. | |
|
|
| | Krogstad. And life has taught me not to believe in fine speeches. | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. Then life has taught you something very reasonable. | 65 | |
| | But deeds you must believe in? | |
|
|
| | Krogstad. What do you mean by that? | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. You said you were like a shipwrecked man clinging to | |
| | some wreckage. | |
|
|
| | Krogstad. I had good reason to say so. | 70 | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. Well, I am like a shipwrecked woman clinging to some | |
| | wreckage—no one to mourn for, no one to care for. | |
|
|
| | Krogstad. It was your own choice. | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. There was no other choice—then. | |
|
|
| | Krogstad. Well, what now? | 75 | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. Nils, how would it be if we two shipwrecked people | |
| | could join forces? | |
|
|
| | Krogstad. What are you saying? | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. Two on the same piece of wreckage would stand a | |
| | better chance than each on their own. | 80 | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. What do you suppose brought me to town? | |
|
|
| | Krogstad. Do you mean that you gave me a thought? | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. I could not endure life without work. All my life, as | |
| | long as I can remember, I have worked, and it has been my greatest | 85 | |
| | and only pleasure. But now I am quite alone in the world—my life | |
| | is so dreadfully empty and I feel so forsaken. There is not the | |
| | least pleasure in working for one's self. Nils, give me someone and | |
| | something to work for. | |
|
|
| | Krogstad. I don't trust that. It is nothing but a woman's | 90 | |
| | overstrained sense of generosity that prompts you to make such an | |
| | offer of yourself. | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. Have you ever noticed anything of the sort in me? | |
|
|
| | Krogstad. Could you really do it? Tell me—do you know all about | |
| | my past life? | 95 | |
|
|
| | Krogstad. And do you know what they think of me here? | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. You seemed to me to imply that with me you might have | |
| | been quite another man. | |
|
|
| | Krogstad. I am certain of it. | 100 | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. Is it too late now? | |
|
|
| | Krogstad. Christine, are you saying this deliberately? Yes, I am | |
| | sure you are. I see it in your face. Have you really the courage, | |
| | then—? | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. I want to be a mother to someone, and your children | 105 | |
| | need a mother. We two need each other. Nils, I have faith in your | |
| | real character—I can dare anything together with you. | |
|
|
| | Krogstad (grasps her hands). Thanks, thanks, Christine! Now I | |
| | shall find a way to clear myself in the eyes of the world. Ah, | |
| | but I forgot— | 110 | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde (listening). Hush! The Tarantella! Go, go! | |
|
|
| | Krogstad. Why? What is it? | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. Do you hear them up there? When that is over, we may | |
| | expect them back. | |
|
|
| | Krogstad. Yes, yes—I will go. But it is all no use. Of course | 115 | |
| | you are not aware what steps I have taken in the matter of the | |
| | Helmers. | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. Yes, I know all about that. | |
|
|
| | Krogstad. And in spite of that have you the courage to—? | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. I understand very well to what lengths a man like you | 120 | |
| | might be driven by despair. | |
|
|
| | Krogstad. If I could only undo what I have done! | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. You cannot. Your letter is lying in the letter-box | |
| | now. | |
|
|
| | Krogstad. Are you sure of that? | 125 | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. Quite sure, but— | |
|
|
| | Krogstad (with a searching look at her). Is that what it all | |
| | means?—that you want to save your friend at any cost? Tell me | |
| | frankly. Is that it? | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. Nils, a woman who has once sold herself for another's | 130 | |
| | sake, doesn't do it a second time. | |
|
|
| | Krogstad. I will ask for my letter back. | |
|
|
| | Krogstad. Yes, of course I will. I will wait here until Helmer | |
| | comes; I will tell him he must give me my letter back—that it | 135 | |
| | only concerns my dismissal—that he is not to read it— | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. No, Nils, you must not recall your letter. | |
|
|
| | Krogstad. But, tell me, wasn't it for that very purpose that you | |
| | asked me to meet you here? | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. In my first moment of fright, it was. But twenty-four | 140 | |
| | hours have elapsed since then, and in that time I have witnessed | |
| | incredible things in this house. Helmer must know all about it. | |
| | This unhappy secret must be disclosed; they must have a complete | |
| | understanding between them, which is impossible with all this | |
| | concealment and falsehood going on. | 145 | |
|
|
| | Krogstad. Very well, if you will take the responsibility. But | |
| | there is one thing I can do in any case, and I shall do it at | |
| | once. | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde (listening). You must be quick and go! The dance is | |
| | over; we are not safe a moment longer. | 150 | |
|
|
| | Krogstad. I will wait for you below. | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. Yes, do. You must see me back to my door... | |
|
|
| | Krogstad. I have never had such an amazing piece of good fortune | |
| | in my life! (Goes out through the outer door. The door between | |
| | the room and the hall remains open.) | 155 | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde (tidying up the room and laying her hat and cloak | |
| | ready). What a difference! what a difference! Someone to work | |
| | for and live for—a home to bring comfort into. That I will do, | |
| | indeed. I wish they would be quick and come—(Listens.) Ah, there | |
| | they are now. I must put on my things. (Takes up her hat and | 160 | |
| | cloak. HELMER'S and NORA'S voices are heard outside; a key is | |
| | turned, and HELMER brings NORA almost by force into the hall. She | |
| | is in an Italian costume with a large black shawl around her; he | |
| | is in evening dress, and a black domino which is flying open.) | |
|
|
| | Nora (hanging back in the doorway, and struggling with him). No, | 165 | |
| | no, no!—don't take me in. I want to go upstairs again; I don't | |
| | want to leave so early. | |
|
|
| | Helmer. But, my dearest Nora— | |
|
|
| | Nora. Please, Torvald dear—please, please—only an hour more. | |
|
|
| | Helmer. Not a single minute, my sweet Nora. You know that was our | 170 | |
| | agreement. Come along into the room; you are catching cold | |
| | standing there. (He brings her gently into the room, in spite of | |
| | her resistance.) | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. Good evening. | |
|
|
| | Helmer. You here, so late, Mrs. Linde? | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. Yes, you must excuse me; I was so anxious to see Nora | |
| | in her dress. | |
|
|
| | Nora. Have you been sitting here waiting for me? | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. Yes, unfortunately I came too late, you had already | 180 | |
| | gone upstairs; and I thought I couldn't go away again without | |
| | having seen you. | |
|
|
| | Helmer (taking off NORA'S shawl). Yes, take a good look at her. I | |
| | think she is worth looking at. Isn't she charming, Mrs. Linde? | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. Yes, indeed she is. | 185 | |
|
|
| | Helmer. Doesn't she look remarkably pretty? Everyone thought so | |
| | at the dance. But she is terribly self-willed, this sweet little | |
| | person. What are we to do with her? You will hardly believe that | |
| | I had almost to bring her away by force. | |
|
|
| | Nora. Torvald, you will repent not having let me stay, even if it | 190 | |
| | were only for half an hour. | |
|
|
| | Helmer. Listen to her, Mrs. Linde! She had danced her Tarantella, | |
| | and it had been a tremendous success, as it deserved—although | |
| | possibly the performance was a trifle too realistic—a little | |
| | more so, I mean, than was strictly compatible with the limitations | 195 | |
| | of art. But never mind about that! The chief thing is, she had made | |
| | a success—she had made a tremendous success. Do you think I was going | |
| | to let her remain there after that, and spoil the effect? No, indeed! | |
| | I took my charming little Capri maiden—my capricious little | |
| | Capri maiden, I should say—on my arm; took one quick turn | 200 | |
| | round the room; a curtsey on either side, and, as they say in | |
| | novels, the beautiful apparition disappeared. An exit ought always | |
| | to be effective, Mrs. Linde; but that is what I cannot make Nora | |
| | understand. Pooh! this room is hot. (Throws his domino on a | |
| | chair, and opens the door of his room.) Hullo! it's all dark | 205 | |
| | in here. Oh, of course—excuse me—. (He goes in, and lights | |
| | some candles.) | |
|
|
| | Nora (in a hurried and breathless whisper). Well? | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde (in a low voice). I have had a talk with him. | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. Nora, you must tell your husband all about it. | |
|
|
| | Nora (in an expressionless voice). I knew it. | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. You have nothing to be afraid of as far as Krogstad | |
| | is concerned; but you must tell him. | |
|
|
| | Nora. I won't tell him. | 215 | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. Then the letter will. | |
|
|
| | Nora. Thank you, Christine. Now I know what I must do. Hush—! | |
|
|
| | Helmer (coming in again). Well, Mrs. Linde, have you admired her? | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. Yes, and now I will say goodnight. | |
|
|
| | Helmer. What, already? Is this yours, this knitting? | 220 | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde (taking it). Yes, thank you, I had very nearly forgotten it. | |
|
|
| | Helmer. Do you know, you ought to embroider. | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. Really? Why? | 225 | |
|
|
| | Helmer. Yes, it's far more becoming. Let me show you. You hold | |
| | the embroidery thus in your left hand, and use the needle with | |
| | the right—like this—with a long, easy sweep. Do you see? | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. Yes, perhaps— | |
|
|
| | Helmer. But in the case of knitting—that can never be anything | 230 | |
| | but ungraceful; look here—the arms close together, the knitting- | |
| | needles going up and down—it has a sort of Chinese effect—. | |
| | That was really excellent champagne they gave us. | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. Well,—goodnight, Nora, and don't be self-willed any | |
| | more. | 235 | |
|
|
| | Helmer. That's right, Mrs. Linde. | |
|
|
| | Mrs. Linde. Goodnight, Mr. Helmer. | |
|
|
| | Helmer (accompanying her to the door). Goodnight, goodnight. I | |
| | hope you will get home all right. I should be very happy to—but | |
| | you haven't any great distance to go. Goodnight, goodnight. | 240 | |
| | (She goes out; he shuts the door after her, and comes in again.) | |
| | Ah!—at last we have got rid of her. She is a frightful bore, | |
| | that woman. | |
|
|
| | Nora. Aren't you very tired, Torvald? | |
|
|
| | Helmer. No, not in the least. | 245 | |
|
|
| | Helmer. Not a bit. On the contrary, I feel extraordinarily lively. | |
| | And you?—you really look both tired and sleepy. | |
|
|
| | Nora. Yes, I am very tired. I want to go to sleep at once. | |
|
|
| | Helmer. There, you see it was quite right of me not to let you | 250 | |
| | stay there any longer. | |
|
|
| | Nora. Everything you do is quite right, Torvald. | |
|
|
| | Helmer (kissing her on the forehead). Now my little skylark is | |
| | speaking reasonably. Did you notice what good spirits Rank was in | |
| | this evening? | 255 | |
|
|
| | Nora. Really? Was he? I didn't speak to him at all. | |
|
|
| | Helmer. And I very little, but I have not for a long time seen | |
| | him in such good form. (Looks for a while at her and then goes | |
| | nearer to her.) It is delightful to be at home by ourselves again, | |
| | to be all alone with you—you fascinating, charming little darling! | 260 | |
|
|
| | Nora. Don't look at me like that, Torvald. | |
|
|
| | Helmer. Why shouldn't I look at my dearest treasure?—at all the | |
| | beauty that is mine, all my very own? | |
|
|
| | Nora (going to the other side of the table). You mustn't say | |
| | things like that to me tonight. | 265 | |
|
|
| | Helmer (following her). You have still got the Tarantella in your | |
| | blood, I see. And it makes you more captivating than ever. | |
| | Listen—the guests are beginning to go now. (In a lower voice.) | |
| | Nora—soon the whole house will be quiet. | |
|
|
| | Helmer. Yes, my own darling Nora. Do you know, when I am out at a | |
| | party with you like this, why I speak so little to you, keep away | |
| | from you, and only send a stolen glance in your direction now and | |
| | then?—do you know why I do that? It is because I make believe to | |
| | myself that we are secretly in love, and you are my secretly | 275 | |
| | promised bride, and that no one suspects there is anything between us. | |
|
|
| | Nora. Yes, yes—I know very well your thoughts are with me all | |
| | the time. | |
|
|
| | Helmer. And when we are leaving, and I am putting the shawl over | |
| | your beautiful young shoulders—on your lovely neck—then I imagine | 280 | |
| | that you are my young bride and that we have just come from the | |
| | wedding, and I am bringing you for the first time into our | |
| | home—to be alone with you for the first time—quite alone with | |
| | my shy little darling! All this evening I have longed for nothing | |
| | but you. When I watched the seductive figures of the Tarantella, | 285 | |
| | my blood was on fire; I could endure it no longer, and that was | |
| | why I brought you down so early— | |
|
|
| | Nora. Go away, Torvald! You must let me go. I won't— | |
|
|
| | Helmer. What's that? You're joking, my little Nora! You won't— | |
| | you won't? Am I not your husband—? (A knock is heard at the | 290 | |
| | outer door.) | |
|
|
| | Nora (starting). Did you hear—? | |
|
|
| | Helmer (going into the hall). Who is it? | |
|
|
| | Rank (outside). It is I. May I come in for a moment? | |
|
|
| | Helmer (in a fretful whisper). Oh, what does he want now? | 295 | |
| | (Aloud.) Wait a minute! (Unlocks the door.) Come, that's kind of | |
| | you not to pass by our door. | |
|
|
| | Rank. I thought I heard your voice, and felt as if I should like | |
| | to look in. (With a swift glance round.) Ah, yes!—these dear | |
| | familiar rooms. You are very happy and cosy in here, you two. | 300 | |
|
|
| | Helmer. It seems to me that you looked after yourself pretty well | |
| | upstairs too. | |
|
|
| | Rank. Excellently. Why shouldn't I? Why shouldn't one enjoy | |
| | everything in this world?—at any rate as much as one can, and as | |
| | long as one can. The wine was capital— | 305 | |
|
|
| | Helmer. Especially the champagne. | |
|
|
| | Rank. So you noticed that too? It is almost incredible how much I | |
| | managed to put away! | |
|
|
| | Nora. Torvald drank a great deal of champagne tonight too. | |
|
|
| | Nora. Yes, and he is always in such good spirits afterwards. | |
|
|
| | Rank. Well, why should one not enjoy a merry evening after a | |
| | well-spent day? | |
|
|
| | Helmer. Well spent? I am afraid I can't take credit for that. | |
|
|
| | Rank (clapping him on the back). But I can, you know! | 315 | |
|
|
| | Nora. Doctor Rank, you must have been occupied with some | |
| | scientific investigation today. | |
|
|
| | Helmer. Just listen!—little Nora talking about scientific | |
| | investigations! | 320 | |
|
|
| | Nora. And may I congratulate you on the result? | |
|
|
| | Nora. Was it favourable, then? | |
|
|
| | Rank. The best possible, for both doctor and patient—certainty. | |
|
|
| | Nora (quickly and searchingly). Certainty? | 325 | |
|
|
| | Rank. Absolute certainty. So wasn't I entitled to make a merry | |
| | evening of it after that? | |
|
|
| | Nora. Yes, you certainly were, Doctor Rank. Helmer. I think so | |
| | too, so long as you don't have to pay for it in the morning. | |
|
|
| | Rank. Oh well, one can't have anything in this life without | 330 | |
| | paying for it. | |
|
|
| | Nora. Doctor Rank—are you fond of fancy-dress balls? | |
|
|
| | Rank. Yes, if there is a fine lot of pretty costumes. | |
|
|
| | Nora. Tell me—what shall we two wear at the next? | |
|
|
| | Helmer. Little featherbrain!—are you thinking of the next | 335 | |
| | already? | |
|
|
| | Rank. We two? Yes, I can tell you. You shall go as a good fairy— | |
|
|
| | Helmer. Yes, but what do you suggest as an appropriate costume | |
| | for that? | |
|
|
| | Rank. Let your wife go dressed just as she is in everyday life. | 340 | |
|
|
| | Helmer. That was really very prettily turned. But can't you tell | |
| | us what you will be? | |
|
|
| | Rank. Yes, my dear friend, I have quite made up my mind about that. | |
|
|
| | Rank. At the next fancy-dress ball I shall be invisible. | 345 | |
|
|
| | Helmer. That's a good joke! | |
|
|
| | Rank. There is a big black hat—have you never heard of hats that | |
| | make you invisible? If you put one on, no one can see you. | |
|
|
| | Helmer (suppressing a smile). Yes, you are quite right. | |
|
|
| | Rank. But I am clean forgetting what I came for. Helmer, give me | 350 | |
| | a cigar—one of the dark Havanas. | |
|
|
| | Helmer. With the greatest pleasure. (Offers him his case.) | |
|
|
| | Rank (takes a cigar and cuts off the end). Thanks. | |
|
|
| | Nora (striking a match). Let me give you a light. | |
|
|
| | Rank. Thank you. (She holds the match for him to light his | 355 | |
| | cigar.) And now goodbye! | |
|
|
| | Helmer. Goodbye, goodbye, dear old man! | |
|
|
| | Nora. Sleep well, Doctor Rank. | |
|
|
| | Rank. Thank you for that wish. | |
|
|
| | Nora. Wish me the same. | 360 | |
|
|
| | Rank. You? Well, if you want me to sleep well! And thanks for the | |
| | light. (He nods to them both and goes out.) | |
|
|
| | Helmer (in a subdued voice). He has drunk more than he ought. | |
|
|
| | Nora (absently). Maybe. (HELMER takes a bunch of keys out of his | |
| | pocket and goes into the hall.) Torvald! what are you going to do | 365 | |
| | there? | |
|
|
| | Helmer. Emptying the letter-box; it is quite full; there will be no | |
| | room to put the newspaper in tomorrow morning. | |
|
|
| | Nora. Are you going to work tonight? | |
|
|
| | Helmer. You know quite well I'm not. What is this? Someone has | 370 | |
| | been at the lock. | |
|
|
| | Helmer. Yes, someone has. What can it mean? I should never have | |
| | thought the maid—. Here is a broken hairpin. Nora, it is one of | |
| | yours. | 375 | |
|
|
| | Nora (quickly). Then it must have been the children— | |
|
|
| | Helmer. Then you must get them out of those ways. There, at last | |
| | I have got it open. (Takes out the contents of the letter-box, | |
| | and calls to the kitchen.) Helen!—Helen, put out the light over | |
| | the front door. (Goes back into the room and shuts the door into | 380 | |
| | the hall. He holds out his hand full of letters.) Look at that— | |
| | look what a heap of them there are. (Turning them over.) What on | |
| | earth is that? | |
|
|
| | Nora (at the window). The letter—No! Torvald, no! | |
|
|
| | Helmer. Two cards—of Rank's. | 385 | |
|
|
| | Helmer (looking at them). Doctor Rank. They were on the top. He | |
| | must have put them in when he went out. | |
|
|
| | Nora. Is there anything written on them? | |
|
|
| | Helmer. There is a black cross over the name. Look there—what an | 390 | |
| | uncomfortable idea! It looks as if he were announcing his own death. | |
|
|
| | Nora. It is just what he is doing. | |
|
|
| | Helmer. What? Do you know anything about it? Has he said anything | |
| | to you? | |
|
|
| | Nora. Yes. He told me that when the cards came it would be his | 395 | |
| | leave-taking from us. He means to shut himself up and die. | |
|
|
| | Helmer. My poor old friend! Certainly I knew we should not have | |
| | him very long with us. But so soon! And so he hides himself away | |
| | like a wounded animal. | |
|
|
| | Nora. If it has to happen, it is best it should be without a | 400 | |
| | word—don't you think so, Torvald? | |
|
|
| | Helmer (walking up and down). He had so grown into our lives. I | |
| | can't think of him as having gone out of them. He, with his | |
| | sufferings and his loneliness, was like a cloudy background to | |
| | our sunlit happiness. Well, perhaps it is best so. For him, | 405 | |
| | anyway. (Standing still.) And perhaps for us too, Nora. We | |
| | two are thrown quite upon each other now. (Puts his arms round | |
| | her.) My darling wife, I don't feel as if I could hold you tight | |
| | enough. Do you know, Nora, I have often wished that you might be | |
| | threatened by some great danger, so that I might risk my life's | 410 | |
| | blood, and everything, for your sake. | |
|
|
| | Nora (disengages herself, and says firmly and decidedly). Now you | |
| | must read your letters, Torvald. | |
|
|
| | Helmer. No, no; not tonight. I want to be with you, my darling wife. | |
|
|
| | Nora. With the thought of your friend's death— | 415 | |
|
|
| | Helmer. You are right, it has affected us both. Something ugly | |
| | has come between us—the thought of the horrors of death. | |
| | We must try and rid our minds of that. Until then—we will | |
| | each go to our own room. | |
|
|
| | Nora (hanging on his neck). Goodnight, Torvald—Goodnight! | 420 | |
|
|
| | Helmer (kissing her on the forehead). Goodnight, my little | |
| | singing-bird. Sleep sound, Nora. Now I will read my letters | |
| | through. (He takes his letters and goes into his room, shutting | |
| | the door after him.) | |
|
|
| | Nora (gropes distractedly about, seizes HELMER'S domino, throws | 425 | |
| | it round her, while she says in quick, hoarse, spasmodic | |
| | whispers). Never to see him again. Never! Never! (Puts her shawl | |
| | over her head.) Never to see my children again either—never | |
| | again. Never! Never!—Ah! the icy, black water—the unfathomable | |
| | depths—If only it were over! He has got it now—now he is reading | 430 | |
| | it. Goodbye, Torvald and my children! (She is about to rush out | |
| | through the hall, when HELMER opens his door hurriedly and stands | |
| | with an open letter in his hand.) | |
|
|
| | Nora. Ah!—Helmer. What is this? Do you know what is in this letter? | 435 | |
|
|
| | Nora. Yes, I know. Let me go! Let me get out! | |
|
|
| | Helmer (holding her back). Where are you going? | |
|
|
| | Nora (trying to get free). You shan't save me, Torvald! | |
|
|
| | Helmer (reeling). True? Is this true, that I read here? Horrible! | |
| | No, no—it is impossible that it can be true. | 440 | |
|
|
| | Nora. It is true. I have loved you above everything else in the world. | |
|
|
| | Helmer. Oh, don't let us have any silly excuses. | |
|
|
| | Nora (taking a step towards him). Torvald—! | |
|
|
| | Helmer. Miserable creature—what have you done? | |
|
|
| | Nora. Let me go. You shall not suffer for my sake. You shall not | 445 | |
| | take it upon yourself. | |
|
|
| | Helmer. No tragic airs, please. (Locks the hall door.) Here you | |
| | shall stay and give me an explanation. Do you understand what you | |
| | have done? Answer me! Do you understand what you have done? | |
|
|
| | Nora (looks steadily at him and says with a growing look of | 450 | |
| | coldness in her face). Yes, now I am beginning to understand | |
| | thoroughly. | |
|
|
| | Helmer (walking about the room). What a horrible awakening! All | |
| | these eight years—she who was my joy and pride—a hypocrite, a | |
| | liar—worse, worse—a criminal! The unutterable ugliness of it | 455 | |
| | all!—For shame! For shame! (NORA is silent and looks steadily at | |
| | him. He stops in front of her.) I ought to have suspected that | |
| | something of the sort would happen. I ought to have foreseen it. | |
| | All your father's want of principle—be silent!—all your father's | |
| | want of principle has come out in you. No religion, no morality, | 460 | |
| | no sense of duty—. How I am punished for having winked at what he did! | |
| | I did it for your sake, and this is how you repay me. | |
|
|
| | Nora. Yes, that's just it. | |
|
|
| | Helmer. Now you have destroyed all my happiness. You have ruined | |
| | all my future. It is horrible to think of! I am in the power of | 465 | |
| | an unscrupulous man; he can do what he likes with me, ask anything | |
| | he likes of me, give me any orders he pleases—I dare not refuse. | |
| | And I must sink to such miserable depths because of a thoughtless woman! | |
|
|
| | Nora. When I am out of the way, you will be free. | |
|
|
| | Helmer. No fine speeches, please. Your father had always plenty | 470 | |
| | of those ready, too. What good would it be to me if you were out | |
| | of the way, as you say? Not the slightest. He can make the affair | |
| | known everywhere; and if he does, I may be falsely suspected of | |
| | having been a party to your criminal action. Very likely people | |
| | will think I was behind it all—that it was I who prompted you! | 475 | |
| | And I have to thank you for all this—you whom I have cherished | |
| | during the whole of our married life. Do you understand now what | |
| | it is you have done for me? | |
|
|
| | Nora (coldly and quietly). Yes. | |
|
|
| | Helmer. It is so incredible that I can't take it in. But we must | 480 | |
| | come to some understanding. Take off that shawl. Take it off, I | |
| | tell you. I must try and appease him some way or another. The | |
| | matter must be hushed up at any cost. And as for you and me, it | |
| | must appear as if everything between us were just as before—but | |
| | naturally only in the eyes of the world. You will still remain in | 485 | |
| | my house, that is a matter of course. But I shall not allow you | |
| | to bring up the children; I dare not trust them to you. To think | |
| | that I should be obliged to say so to one whom I have loved so | |
| | dearly, and whom I still—. No, that is all over. From this moment | |
| | happiness is not the question; all that concerns us is to save the | 490 | |
| | remains, the fragments, the appearance— | |
|
|
| | (A ring is heard at the front-door bell.) | |
|
|
| | Helmer (with a start). What is that? So late! Can the worst—? | |
| | Can he—? Hide yourself, Nora. Say you are ill. | |
|
|
| | (NORA stands motionless. HELMER goes and unlocks the hall door.) | 495 | |
|
|
| | Maid (half-dressed, comes to the door). A letter for the mistress. | |
|
|
| | Helmer. Give it to me. (Takes the letter, and shuts the door.) | |
| | Yes, it is from him. You shall not have it; I will read it myself. | |
|
|
| | Helmer (standing by the lamp). I scarcely have the courage to do | 500 | |
| | it. It may mean ruin for both of us. No, I must know. (Tears open | |
| | the letter, runs his eye over a few lines, looks at a paper | |
| | enclosed, and gives a shout of joy.) Nora! (She looks at him | |
| | questioningly.) Nora!—No, I must read it once again—. Yes, it | |
| | is true! I am saved! Nora, I am saved! | 505 | |
|
|
| | Helmer. You too, of course; we are both saved, both you and I. | |
| | Look, he sends you your bond back. He says he regrets and repents— | |
| | that a happy change in his life—never mind what he says! We | |
| | are saved, Nora! No one can do anything to you. Oh, Nora, | 510 | |
| | Nora!—no, first I must destroy these hateful things. Let | |
| | me see—. (Takes a look at the bond.) No, no, I won't look | |
| | at it. The whole thing shall be nothing but a bad dream to | |
| | me. (Tears up the bond and both letters, throws them all | |
| | into the stove, and watches them burn.) There—now it doesn't | 515 | |
| | exist any longer. He says that since Christmas Eve you—. | |
| | These must have been three dreadful days for you, Nora. | |
|
|
| | Nora. I have fought a hard fight these three days. | |
|
|
| | Helmer. And suffered agonies, and seen no way out but—. No, we | |
| | won't call any of the horrors to mind. We will only shout with | 520 | |
| | joy, and keep saying, "It's all over! It's all over!" Listen to | |
| | me, Nora. You don't seem to realise that it is all over. What is | |
| | this?—such a cold, set face! My poor little Nora, I quite | |
| | understand; you don't feel as if you could believe that I have | |
| | forgiven you. But it is true, Nora, I swear it; I have forgiven | 525 | |
| | you everything. I know that what you did, you did out of love for me. | |
|
|
| | Helmer. You have loved me as a wife ought to love her husband. Only | |
| | you had not sufficient knowledge to judge of the means you used. But | |
| | do you suppose you are any the less dear to me, because you don't | 530 | |
| | understand how to act on your own responsibility? No, no; only lean | |
| | on me; I will advise you and direct you. I should not be a man if | |
| | this womanly helplessness did not just give you a double | |
| | attractiveness in my eyes. You must not think anymore about the | |
| | hard things I said in my first moment of consternation, when | 535 | |
| | I thought everything was going to overwhelm me. I have forgiven | |
| | you, Nora; I swear to you I have forgiven you. | |
|
|
| | Nora. Thank you for your forgiveness. (She goes out through the | |
| | door to the right.) | |
|
|
| | Helmer. No, don't go—. (Looks in.) What are you doing in there? | 540 | |
|
|
| | Nora (from within). Taking off my fancy dress. | |
|
|
| | Helmer (standing at the open door). Yes, do. Try and calm yourself, | |
| | and make your mind easy again, my frightened little singing-bird. Be | |
| | at rest, and feel secure; I have broad wings to shelter you under. | |
| | (Walks up and down by the door.) How warm and cosy our home is, | 545 | |
| | Nora. Here is shelter for you; here I will protect you like a | |
| | hunted dove that I have saved from a hawk's claws; I will bring | |
| | peace to your poor beating heart. It will come, little by little, | |
| | Nora, believe me. Tomorrow morning you will look upon it all quite | |
| | differently; soon everything will be just as it was before. | 550 | |
| | Very soon you won't need me to assure you that I have forgiven | |
| | you; you will yourself feel the certainty that I have done so. | |
| | Can you suppose I should ever think of such a thing as | |
| | repudiating you, or even reproaching you? You have no | |
| | idea what a true man's heart is like, Nora. There is something so | 555 | |
| | indescribably sweet and satisfying, to a man, in the knowledge | |
| | that he has forgiven his wife—forgiven her freely, and with all | |
| | his heart. It seems as if that had made her, as it were, doubly | |
| | his own; he has given her a new life, so to speak; and she has | |
| | in a way become both wife and child to him. So you shall be for | 560 | |
| | me after this, my little scared, helpless darling. Have no | |
| | anxiety about anything, Nora; only be frank and open with me, | |
| | and I will serve as will and conscience both to you—. What | |
| | is this? Not gone to bed? Have you changed your things? | |
|
|
| | Nora (in everyday dress). Yes, Torvald, I have changed my things now. | 565 | |
|
|
| | Helmer. But what for?—so late as this. | |
|
|
| | Nora. I shall not sleep tonight. | |
|
|
| | Helmer. But, my dear Nora— | |
|
|
| | Nora (looking at her watch). It is not so very late. Sit down | |
| | here, Torvald. You and I have much to say to one another. (She | 570 | |
| | sits down at one side of the table.) | |
|
|
| | Helmer. Nora—what is this?—this cold, set face? Nora. Sit down. | |
| | It will take some time; I have a lot to talk over with you. | |
|
|
| | Helmer (sits down at the opposite side of the table). You alarm | |
| | me, Nora!—and I don't understand you. | 575 | |
|
|
| | Nora. No, that is just it. You don't understand me, and I have | |
| | never understood you either—before tonight. No, you mustn't | |
| | interrupt me. You must simply listen to what I say. Torvald, | |
| | this is a settling of accounts. | |
|
|
| | Helmer. What do you mean by that? | 580 | |
|
|
| | Nora (after a short silence). Isn't there one thing that strikes | |
| | you as strange in our sitting here like this? | |
|
|
| | Nora. We have been married now eight years. Does it not occur | |
| | to you that this is the first time we two, you and I, husband | 585 | |
| | and wife, have had a serious conversation? | |
|
|
| | Helmer. What do you mean by serious? | |
|
|
| | Nora. In all these eight years—longer than that—from the very | |
| | beginning of our acquaintance, we have never exchanged a word on | |
| | any serious subject. | 590 | |
|
|
| | Helmer. Was it likely that I would be continually and forever | |
| | telling you about worries that you could not help me to bear? | |
|
|
| | Nora. I am not speaking about business matters. I say that we | |
| | have never sat down in earnest together to try and get at the | |
| | bottom of anything. | 595 | |
|
|
| | Helmer. But, dearest Nora, would it have been any good to you? | |
|
|
| | Nora. That is just it; you have never understood me. I have been | |
| | greatly wronged, Torvald—first by papa and then by you. | |
|
|
| | Helmer. What! By us two—by us two, who have loved you better | |
| | than anyone else in the world? | 600 | |
|
|
| | Nora (shaking her head). You have never loved me. You have only | |
| | thought it pleasant to be in love with me. | |
|
|
| | Helmer. Nora, what do I hear you saying? | |
|
|
| | Nora. It is perfectly true, Torvald. When I was at home with | |
| | papa, he told me his opinion about everything, and so I | 605 | |
| | had the same opinions; and if I differed from him I | |
| | concealed the fact, because he would not have liked it. | |
| | He called me his doll-child, and he played with me just | |
| | as I used to play with my dolls. And when I came to | |
| | live with you— | 610 | |
|
|
| | Helmer. What sort of an expression is that to use about our marriage? | |
|
|
| | Nora (undisturbed). I mean that I was simply transferred from | |
| | papa's hands into yours. You arranged everything according to | |
| | your own taste, and so I got the same tastes as your else I | |
| | pretended to, I am really not quite sure which—I think | 615 | |
| | sometimes the one and sometimes the other. When I look back | |
| | on it, it seems to me as if I had been living here like a | |
| | poor woman—just from hand to mouth. I have existed merely | |
| | to perform tricks for you, Torvald. But you would have it | |
| | so. You and papa have committed a great sin against me. | 620 | |
| | It is your fault that I have made nothing of my life. | |
|
|
| | Helmer. How unreasonable and how ungrateful you are, Nora! Have | |
| | you not been happy here? | |
|
|
| | Nora. No, I have never been happy. I thought I was, but it has | |
| | never really been so. | 625 | |
|
|
| | Nora. No, only merry. And you have always been so kind to me. | |
| | But our home has been nothing but a playroom. I have been | |
| | your doll-wife, just as at home I was papa's doll-child; and | |
| | here the children have been my dolls. I thought it great fun | 630 | |
| | when you played with me, just as they thought it great fun | |
| | when I played with them. That is what our marriage has been, Torvald. | |
|
|
| | Helmer. There is some truth in what you say—exaggerated and | |
| | strained as your view of it is. But for the future it shall be | |
| | different. Playtime shall be over, and lesson-time shall begin. | 635 | |
|
|
| | Nora. Whose lessons? Mine, or the children's? | |
|
|
| | Helmer. Both yours and the children's, my darling Nora. | |
|
|
| | Nora. Alas, Torvald, you are not the man to educate me into being | |
| | a proper wife for you. | |
|
|
| | Helmer. And you can say that! | 640 | |
|
|
| | Nora. And I—how am I fitted to bring up the children? | |
|
|
| | Nora. Didn't you say so yourself a little while ago—that you | |
| | dare not trust me to bring them up? | |
|
|