A Doll's House - Henrik Ibsen (digital ebook reader TXT) š
- Author: Henrik Ibsen
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Nora. Yes, it is really wonderful.
Helmer. This time I neednāt sit here and be dull all alone, and you neednāt ruin your dear eyes and your pretty little handsā
Nora (clapping her hands). No, Torvald, I neednāt any longer, need I! Itās wonderfully lovely to hear you say so! (Taking his arm.) Now I will tell you how I have been thinking we ought to arrange things, Torvald. As soon as Christmas is overā(A bell rings in the hall.) Thereās the bell. (She tidies the room a little.) Thereās some one at the door. What a nuisance!
Helmer. If it is a caller, remember I am not at home.
Maid (in the doorway). A lady to see you, maāam,āa stranger.
Nora. Ask her to come in.
Maid (to HELMER). The doctor came at the same time, sir.
Helmer. Did he go straight into my room?
Maid. Yes, sir.
(HELMER goes into his room. The MAID ushers in Mrs. LINDE, who is in travelling dress, and shuts the door.) Mrs. Linde (in a dejected and timid voice). How do you do, Nora?
Nora (doubtfully). How do you doāMrs. Linde. You donāt recognise me, I suppose.
Nora. No, I donāt knowāyes, to be sure, I seem toā(Suddenly.) Yes! Christine! Is it really you?
Mrs. Linde. Yes, it is I.
Nora. Christine! To think of my not recognising you! And yet how could Iā(In a gentle voice.) How you have altered, Christine!
Mrs. Linde. Yes, I have indeed. In nine, ten long yearsā
Nora. Is it so long since we met? I suppose it is. The last eight years have been a happy time for me, I can tell you. And so now you have come into the town, and have taken this long journey in winterāthat was plucky of you.
Mrs. Linde. I arrived by steamer this morning.
Nora. To have some fun at Christmas-time, of course. How delightful! We will have such fun together! But take off your things. You are not cold, I hope. (Helps her.) Now we will sit down by the stove, and be cosy. No, take this armchair; I will sit here in the rocking-chair. (Takes her hands.) Now you look like your old self again; it was only the first momentāYou are a little paler, Christine, and perhaps a little thinner.
Mrs. Linde. And much, much older, Nora.
Nora. Perhaps a little older; very, very little; certainly not much. (Stops suddenly and speaks seriously.) What a thoughtless creature I am, chattering away like this. My poor, dear Christine, do forgive me.
Mrs. Linde. What do you mean, Nora?
Nora (gently). Poor Christine, you are a widow.
Mrs. Linde. Yes; it is three years ago now.
Nora. Yes, I knew; I saw it in the papers. I assure you, Christine, I meant ever so often to write to you at the time, but I always put it off and something always prevented me.
Mrs. Linde. I quite understand, dear.
Nora. It was very bad of me, Christine. Poor thing, how you must have suffered. And he left you nothing?
Mrs. Linde. No.
Nora. And no children?
Mrs. Linde. No.
Nora. Nothing at all, then.
Mrs. Linde. Not even any sorrow or grief to live upon.
Nora (looking incredulously at her). But, Christine, is that possible?
Mrs. Linde (smiles sadly and strokes her hair). It sometimes happens, Nora.
Nora. So you are quite alone. How dreadfully sad that must be. I have three lovely children. You canāt see them just now, for they are out with their nurse. But now you must tell me all about it.
Mrs. Linde. No, no; I want to hear about you.
Nora. No, you must begin. I mustnāt be selfish today; today I must only think of your affairs. But there is one thing I must tell you. Do you know we have just had a great piece of good luck?
Mrs. Linde. No, what is it?
Nora. Just fancy, my husband has been made manager of the Bank!
Mrs. Linde. Your husband? What good luck!
Nora. Yes, tremendous! A barristerās profession is such an uncertain thing, especially if he wonāt undertake unsavoury cases; and naturally Torvald has never been willing to do that, and I quite agree with him. You may imagine how pleased we are! He is to take up his work in the Bank at the New Year, and then he will have a big salary and lots of commissions. For the future we can live quite differentlyāwe can do just as we like. I feel so relieved and so happy, Christine! It will be splendid to have heaps of money and not need to have any anxiety, wonāt it?
Mrs. Linde. Yes, anyhow I think it would be delightful to have what one needs.
Nora. No, not only what one needs, but heaps and heaps of money.
Mrs. Linde (smiling). Nora, Nora, havenāt 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 āNora, Noraā 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.
Mrs. Linde. You too?
Nora. Yes; odds and ends, needlework, crotchet-work, embroidery, and that kind of thing. (Dropping her voice.) And other things as well. You know Torvald left his office when we were married? There was no prospect of promotion there, and he had to try and earn more than before. But during the first year he overworked himself dreadfully. You see, he had to make money every way he could, and he worked early and late; but he couldnāt stand it, and fell dreadfully ill, and the doctors said it was necessary for him to go south.
Mrs. Linde. You spent a whole year in Italy, didnāt you?
Nora. Yes. It was no easy matter to get away, I can tell you. It was just after Ivar was born; but naturally we had to go. It was a wonderfully beautiful journey, and it saved Torvaldās life. But it cost a tremendous lot of money, Christine.
Mrs. Linde. So I should think.
Nora. It cost about two hundred and fifty pounds. Thatās a lot, isnāt it?
Mrs. Linde. Yes, and in emergencies like that it is lucky to have the money.
Nora. I ought to tell you that we had it from papa.
Mrs. Linde. Oh, I see. It was just about that time that he died, wasnāt it?
Nora. Yes; and, just think of it, I couldnāt go and nurse him. I was expecting little Ivarās birth every day and I had my poor sick Torvald to look after. My dear, kind fatherāI never saw him again, Christine. That was the saddest time I have known since our marriage.
Mrs. Linde. I know how fond you were of him. And then you went off to Italy?
Nora. Yes; you see we had money then, and the doctors insisted on our going, so we started a month later.
Mrs. Linde. And your husband came back quite well?
Nora. As sound as a bell!
Mrs. Linde. Butāthe doctor?
Nora. What doctor?
Mrs. Linde. I thought your maid said the gentleman who arrived here just as I did, was the doctor?
Nora. Yes, that was Doctor Rank, but he doesnāt come here professionally. He is our greatest friend, and comes in at least once everyday. No, Torvald has not had an hourās illness since then, and our children are strong and healthy and so am I. (Jumps up and claps her hands.) Christine! Christine! itās good to be alive and happy!āBut how horrid of me; I am talking of nothing but my own affairs. (Sits on a stool near her, and rests her arms on her knees.) You mustnāt be angry with me. Tell me, is it really true that you did not love your husband? Why did you marry him?
Mrs. Linde. My mother was alive then, and was bedridden and helpless, and I had to provide for my two younger brothers; so I did not think I was justified in refusing his offer.
Nora. No, perhaps you were quite right. He was rich at that time, then?
Mrs. Linde. I believe he was quite well off. But his business was a precarious one; and, when he died, it all went to pieces and there was nothing left.
Nora. And then?ā
Mrs. Linde. Well, I had to turn my hand to anything I could find- -first a small shop, then a small school, and so on. The last three years have seemed like one long working-day, with no rest. 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.
Nora. What a relief you must feel ifā
Mrs. Linde. No, indeed; I only feel my life unspeakably empty. No one to live for anymore. (Gets up restlessly.) That was why I could not stand the life in my little backwater any longer. I hope it may be easier here to find something which will busy me and occupy my thoughts. If only I could have the good luck to get some regular workāoffice work of some kindā
Nora. But, Christine, that is so frightfully tiring, and you look tired out now. 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, donāt 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. When you told me of the happy turn your fortunes have takenāyou will hardly believe itāI was delighted not so much on your account as on my own.
Nora. How do you mean?āOh, I understand. You mean that perhaps Torvald could get you something to do.
Mrs. Linde. Yes, that was what I was thinking of.
Nora. He must, Christine. Just leave it to me; I will broach the subject very cleverlyāI will think of something that will please him very much. It will make me so happy to be of some use to you.
Mrs. Linde. How 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.
Nora. Iā? I know so little of them?
Mrs. Linde (smiling). My dear! Small household cares and that sort of thing!āYou are a child, Nora.
Nora (tosses her head and crosses the stage). You ought not to be so superior.
Mrs. Linde. No?
Nora. You are just like the others. They all think that I am incapable of anything really seriousā
Mrs. Linde. Come, comeā
Nora.āthat I have gone through nothing in this world of cares.
Mrs. Linde. But, my dear Nora, you have just told me all your troubles.
Nora. Pooh!āthose were trifles. (Lowering her voice.) I have not told you the important thing.
Mrs. Linde. The important thing? What do you mean?
Nora. You look down upon me altogether, Christineābut you ought not to. You are proud, arenāt you, of having worked so hard and so long for your mother?
Mrs. Linde. Indeed, I donāt look down on anyone. But it is true that I am both proud and glad to think that I was privileged to make the end of my motherās life
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