Henrik Ibsen

“ You had far better go away to some watering-place. Mrs Linde [walking to the window] I have no father to give me money for a journey, Nora. Nora [rising] Oh, don't be angry with me! Mrs Linde [going up to her] It is you that must not be angry with me, dear. The worst of a position like mine is that it makes one so bitter. No one to work for, and yet obliged to be always on the lookout for chances. One must live, and so one becomes selfish. ”

“ Now it is at an end, Nora. My poor mother needs me no more, for she is gone; and the boys do not need me either; they have got situations and can shift for themselves. NoraWhat a relief you must feel if— Mrs LindeNo, indeed; I only feel my life unspeakably empty. No one to live for anymore. ”

“ HelmerJust think how a guilty man like that has to lie and play the hypocrite with every one, how he has to wear a mask in the presence of those near and dear to him, even before his own wife and children. And about the children—that is the most terrible part of it all, Nora. ”

“ No debt, no borrowing. There can be no freedom or beauty about a home life that depends on borrowing and debt. We two have kept bravely on the straight road so far, and we will go on the same way for the short time longer that there need be any struggle. Nora [moving towards the stove] As you please, Torvald. Helmer [following her] Come, come, my little skylark must not droop her wings. What is this! Is my little squirrel out of temper? [Taking out his purse.] Nora, what do you think I have got here? Nora [turning round quickly] Money! HelmerThere you are. [Gives her some money.] ”

“ NoraYes, Torvald, we may be a wee bit more reckless now, mayn't we? Just a tiny wee bit! You are going to have a big salary and earn lots and lots of money. HelmerYes, after the New Year; but then it will be a whole quarter before the salary is due. NoraPooh! we can borrow until then. HelmerNora! [Goes up to her and takes her playfully by the ear.] The same little featherhead! Suppose, now, that I borrowed fifty pounds today, and you spent it all in the Christmas week, and then on New Year's Eve a slate fell on my head and killed me, and— Nora [putting her hands over his mouth] Oh! ”

“ It's a sweet little spendthrift, but she uses up a deal of money. One would hardly believe how expensive such little persons are! NoraIt's a shame to say that. I do really save all I can. Helmer [laughing] That's very true,—all you can. But you can't save anything! Nora [smiling quietly and happily] You haven't any idea how many expenses we skylarks and squirrels have, Torvald. HelmerYou are an odd little soul. Very like your father. You always find some new way of wheedling money out of me, and, as soon as you have got it, it seems to melt in your hands. ”

“ Have you any notion what Society really is? NoraWhat do I care about tiresome Society? I am laughing at something quite different, something extremely amusing. Tell me, Doctor Rank, are all the people who are employed in the Bank dependent on Torvald now? RankIs that what you find so extremely amusing? Nora [smiling and humming] That's my affair! [Walking about the room.] It's perfectly glorious to think that we have—that Torvald has so much power over so many people. [Takes the packet from her pocket.] Doctor Rank, what do you say to a macaroon? RankWhat, macaroons? ”

“ The floors are carpeted, and a fire burns in the stove.
It is winter. A bell rings in the hall; shortly afterwards the door is heard to open. Enter Nora, humming a tune and in high spirits. She is in outdoor dress and carries a number of parcels; these she lays on the table to the right. She leaves the outer door open after her, and through it is seen a Porter who is carrying a Christmas Tree and a basket, which he gives to the Maid who has opened the door. ”

“ HelmerWhat are little people called that are always wasting money? NoraSpendthrifts—I know. Let us do as you suggest, Torvald, and then I shall have time to think what I am most in want of. That is a very sensible plan, isn't it? Helmer [smiling] ;Indeed: it is—that is to say, if you were really to save out of the money I give you, and then really buy something for yourself But if you spend it all on the housekeeping and any number of unnecessary things, then I merely have to pay up again. NoraOh but, Torvald— HelmerYou can't deny it, my dear little Nora. ”

“ Oh, it's a wonderful thing to be alive and be happy. [A bell is heard in the hall.] Mrs Linde [rising] There is the bell; perhaps I had better go. NoraNo, don't go; no one will come in here; it is sure to be for Torvald. Servant [at the hall door] Excuse me, ma'am—there is a gentleman to see the master, and as the doctor is with him— NoraWho is it? Krogstad [at the door] ;It is I, Mrs Helmer [Mrs Linde starts, trembles, and turns to the window.] Nora [takes a step towards him, and speaks in a strained, low voice] You? What is it? What do you want to see my husband about? ”

“ Each breath the children take in such a house is full of the germs of evil. Nora [coming nearer him] Are you sure of that? HelmerMy dear, I have often seen it in the course of my life as a lawyer. Almost everyone who has gone to the bad early in life has had a deceitful mother. NoraWhy do you only say—mother? HelmerIt seems most commonly to be the mother's influence, though naturally a bad father's would have the same result. Every lawyer is familiar with the fact. This Krogstad, now, has been persistently poisoning his own children with lies and dissimulation ”

“ No, dogs don't bite nice little dolly children. You mustn't look at the parcels, Ivar. What are they? Ah, I daresay you would like to know. No, no—it's something nasty! Come, let us have a game! What shall we play at? Hide and Seek? Yes, we'll play Hide and Seek. ”

“ HelmerI have got authority from the retiring manager to undertake the necessary changes in the staff and in the rearrangement of the work; and I must make use of the Christmas week for that, so as to have everything in order for the new year. NoraThen that was why this poor Krogstad— HelmerHm! Nora [leans against the back of his chair and strokes his hair] If you hadn't been so busy I should have asked you a tremendously big favour, Torvald. HelmerWhat is that? Tell me. NoraThere is no one has such good taste as you. And I do so want to look nice at the fancy-dress ball. ”

“ Mrs LindeYes, anyhow I think it would be delightful to have what one needs. NoraNo, not only what one needs, but heaps and heaps of money. Mrs Linde [smiling] Nora, Nora, haven't you learned sense yet? In our schooldays you were a great spendthrift. Nora [laughing] Yes, that is what Torvald says now. [Wags her finger at her.] But "Nora, Nora" is not so silly as you think. We have not been in a position for me to waste money. We have both had to work. ”

“ Krogstad?—You, one of my husband's subordinates! But since you ask, you shall know. Yes, Mrs Linde is to have an appointment. And it was I who pleaded her cause, Mr. Krogstad, let me tell you that. KrogstadI was right in what I thought, then. Nora [walking up and down the stage] Sometimes one has a tiny little bit of influence, I should hope. Because one is a woman, it does not necessarily follow that— When anyone is in a subordinate position, Mr Krogstad, they should really be careful to avoid offending anyone who—who— KrogstadWho has influence? ”

“ What did he want to speak to Torvald about? RankI have no idea; I only heard that it was something about the Bank. NoraI didn't know this—what's his name—Krogstad had anything to do with the Bank. RankYes, he has some sort of appointment there. [To Mrs Linde.] I don't know whether you find also in your part of the world that there are certain people who go zealously snuffing about to smell out moral corruption, and, as soon as they have found some, put the person concerned into some lucrative position where they can keep their eye on him. Healthy natures are left out in the cold. ”

“ You mean that perhaps Torvald could get you something to do. Mrs LindeYes, that was what I was thinking of. NoraHe must, Christine. Just leave it to me; I will broach the subject very cleverly—I will think of something that will please him very much. It will make me so happy to be of some use to you. Mrs LindeHow kind you are, Nora, to be so anxious to help me! It is doubly kind in you, for you know so little of the burdens and troubles of life. NoraI—? I know so little of them? Mrs Linde [smiling] My dear! Small household cares and that sort of thing!—You are a child, Nora. ”

“ Come in here, Torvald, and see what I have bought. HelmerDon't disturb me. [A little later, he opens the door and looks into the room, pen in hand.] Bought, did you say? All these things? Has my little spendthrift been wasting money again? NoraYes but, Torvald, this year we really can let ourselves go a little. This is the first Christmas that we have not needed to economise. HelmerStill, you know, we can't spend money recklessly. ”

“ I am not so heartless as to condemn a man altogether because of a single false step of that kind. NoraNo, you wouldn't, would you, Torvald? HelmerMany a man has been able to retrieve his character, if he has openly confessed his fault and taken his punishment. NoraPunishment—? HelmerBut Krogstad did nothing of that sort ”