A Doll’s House

love for me. Takes her in his arms. And that is as it should be, my own darling Nora. Come what will, you may be sure I shall have both courage and strength if they be needed. You will see I am man enough to take everything upon myself. Nora In a horror-stricken voice. What do you mean by that? Helmer Everything, I say⁠— Nora Recovering herself. You will never have to do that. Helmer That’s right. Well, we will share it, Nora, as man and wife should. That is how it shall be. Caressing her. Are you content now? There! There!⁠—not these frightened dove’s eyes! The whole thing is only the wildest fancy!⁠—Now, you must go and play through the Tarantella and practise with your tambourine. I shall go into the inner office and shut the door, and I shall hear nothing; you can make as much noise as you please. Turns back at the door. And when Rank comes, tell him where he will find me. Nods to her, takes his papers and goes into his room, and shuts the door after him. Nora Bewildered with anxiety, stands as if rooted to the spot, and whispers. He was capable of doing it. He will do it. He will do it in spite of everything.⁠—No, not that! Never, never! Anything rather than that! Oh, for some help, some way out of it! The doorbell rings. Doctor Rank! Anything rather than that⁠—anything, whatever it is! She puts her hands over her face, pulls herself together, goes to the door and opens it. Rank is standing without, hanging up his coat. During the following dialogue it begins to grow dark. Nora Good day, Doctor Rank. I knew your ring. But you mustn’t go in to Torvald now; I think he is busy with something. Rank And you? Nora Brings him in and shuts the door after him. Oh, you know very well I always have time for you. Rank Thank you. I shall make use of as much of it as I can. Nora What do you mean by that? As much of it as you can? Rank Well, does that alarm you? Nora It was such a strange way of putting it. Is anything likely to happen? Rank Nothing but what I have long been prepared for. But I certainly didn’t expect it to happen so soon. Nora Gripping him by the arm. What have you found out? Doctor Rank, you must tell me. Rank Sitting down by the stove. It is all up with me. And it can’t be helped. Nora With a sigh of relief. Is it about yourself? Rank Who else? It is no use lying to one’s self. I am the most wretched of all my patients, Mrs. Helmer. Lately I have been taking stock of my internal economy. Bankrupt! Probably within a month I shall lie rotting in the churchyard. Nora What an ugly thing to say! Rank The thing itself is cursedly ugly, and the worst of it is that I shall have to face so much more that is ugly before that. I shall only make one more examination of myself; when I have done that, I shall know pretty certainly when it will be that the horrors of dissolution will begin. There is something I want to tell you. Helmer’s refined nature gives him an unconquerable disgust at everything that is ugly; I won’t have him in my sickroom. Nora Oh, but, Doctor Rank⁠— Rank I won’t have him there. Not on any account. I bar my door to him. As soon as I am quite certain that the worst has come, I shall send you my card with a black cross on it, and then you will know that the loathsome end has begun. Nora You are quite absurd today. And I wanted you so much to be in a really good humour. Rank With death stalking beside me?⁠—To have to pay this penalty for another man’s sin? Is there any justice in that? And in every single family, in one way or another, some such inexorable retribution is being exacted⁠— Nora Putting her hands over her ears. Rubbish! Do talk of something cheerful. Rank Oh, it’s a mere laughing matter, the whole thing. My poor innocent spine has to suffer for my father’s youthful amusements. Nora Sitting at the table on the left. I suppose you mean that he was too partial to asparagus and pate de foie gras, don’t you? Rank Yes, and to truffles. Nora Truffles, yes. And oysters too, I suppose? Rank Oysters, of course, that goes without saying. Nora And heaps of port and champagne. It is sad that all these nice things should take their revenge on our bones. Rank Especially that they should revenge themselves on the unlucky bones of those who have not had the satisfaction of enjoying them. Nora Yes, that’s the saddest part of it all. Rank With a searching look at her. Hm!⁠— Nora After a short pause. Why did you smile? Rank No, it was you that laughed. Nora No, it was you that smiled, Doctor Rank! Rank Rising. You are a greater rascal than I thought. Nora I am in a silly mood today. Rank So it seems. Nora Putting her hands on his shoulders. Dear, dear Doctor Rank, death mustn’t take you away from Torvald and me. Rank It is a loss you would easily recover from. Those who are gone are soon forgotten. Nora Looking at him anxiously. Do you believe that? Rank People form new ties, and then⁠— Nora Who will form new ties? Rank Both you and Helmer, when I am gone. You yourself are already on the high road to it, I think. What did that Mrs. Linde want here last night? Nora Oho!⁠—you don’t mean to say you are jealous of poor Christine? Rank Yes, I am. She will be my successor in this house. When I am done for, this woman will⁠— Nora Hush! don’t speak so loud. She is in that room. Rank Today again. There, you see. Nora She has only come to sew my dress for me. Bless my