A Doll’s House - Henrik Ibsen (acx book reading .TXT) 📗

promised to get you that amount⁠— Nora Yes, and you did so. Krogstad I promised to get you that amount, on certain conditions. Your mind was so taken up with your husband’s illness, and you were so anxious to get the money for your journey, that you seem to have paid no attention to the conditions of our bargain. Therefore it will not be amiss if I remind you of them. Now, I promised to get the money on the security of a bond which I drew up. Nora Yes, and which I signed. Krogstad Good. But below your signature there were a few lines constituting your father a surety for the money; those lines your father should have signed. Nora Should? He did sign them. Krogstad I had left the date blank; that is to say, your father should himself have inserted the date on which he signed the paper. Do you remember that? Nora Yes, I think I remember⁠— Krogstad Then I gave you the bond to send by post to your father. Is that not so? Nora Yes. Krogstad And you naturally did so at once, because five or six days afterwards you brought me the bond with your father’s signature. And then I gave you the money. Nora Well, haven’t I been paying it off regularly? Krogstad Fairly so, yes. But⁠—to come back to the matter in hand⁠—that must have been a very trying time for you, Mrs. Helmer? Nora It was, indeed. Krogstad Your father was very ill, wasn’t he? Nora He was very near his end. Krogstad And died soon afterwards? Nora Yes. Krogstad Tell me, Mrs. Helmer, can you by any chance remember what day your father died?⁠—on what day of the month, I mean. Nora Papa died on the 29th of September. Krogstad That is correct; I have ascertained it for myself. And, as that is so, there is a discrepancy taking a paper from his pocket which I cannot account for. Nora What discrepancy? I don’t know⁠— Krogstad The discrepancy consists, Mrs. Helmer, in the fact that your father signed this bond three days after his death. Nora What do you mean? I don’t understand⁠— Krogstad Your father died on the 29th of September. But, look here; your father has dated his signature the 2nd of October. It is a discrepancy, isn’t it? Nora is silent. Can you explain it to me? Nora is still silent. It is a remarkable thing, too, that the words “2nd of October,” as well as the year, are not written in your father’s handwriting but in one that I think I know. Well, of course it can be explained; your father may have forgotten to date his signature, and someone else may have dated it haphazard before they knew of his death. There is no harm in that. It all depends on the signature of the name; and that is genuine, I suppose, Mrs. Helmer? It was your father himself who signed his name here? Nora After a short pause, throws her head up and looks defiantly at him. No, it was not. It was I that wrote Papa’s name. Krogstad Are you aware that is a dangerous confession? Nora In what way? You shall have your money soon. Krogstad Let me ask you a question; why did you not send the paper to your father? Nora It was impossible; Papa was so ill. If I had asked him for his signature, I should have had to tell him what the money was to be used for; and when he was so ill himself I couldn’t tell him that my husband’s life was in danger⁠—it was impossible. Krogstad It would have been better for you if you had given up your trip abroad. Nora No, that was impossible. That trip was to save my husband’s life; I couldn’t give that up. Krogstad But did it never occur to you that you were committing a fraud on me? Nora I couldn’t take that into account; I didn’t trouble myself about you at all. I couldn’t bear you, because you put so many heartless difficulties in my way, although you knew what a dangerous condition my husband was in. Krogstad Mrs. Helmer, you evidently do not realise clearly what it is that you have been guilty of. But I can assure you that my one false step, which lost me all my reputation, was nothing more or nothing worse than what you have done. Nora You? Do you ask me to believe that you were brave enough to run a risk to save your wife’s life? Krogstad The law cares nothing about motives. Nora Then it must be a very foolish law. Krogstad Foolish or not, it is the law by which you will be judged, if I produce this paper in court. Nora I don’t believe it. Is a daughter not to be allowed to spare her dying father anxiety and care? Is a wife not to be allowed to save her husband’s life? I don’t know much about law; but I am certain that there must be laws permitting such things as that. Have you no knowledge of such laws⁠—you who are a lawyer? You must be a very poor lawyer, Mr. Krogstad. Krogstad Maybe. But matters of business⁠—such business as you and I have had together⁠—do you think I don’t understand that? Very well. Do as you please. But let me tell you this⁠—if I lose my position a second time, you shall lose yours with me. He bows, and goes out through the hall. Nora Appears buried in thought for a short time, then tosses her head. Nonsense! Trying to frighten me like that!⁠—I am not so silly as he thinks. Begins to busy herself putting the children’s things in order. And yet⁠—? No, it’s impossible! I did it for love’s sake. The Children In the doorway on the left. Mother, the stranger man has gone out through the gate. Nora Yes, dears, I know. But, don’t tell anyone about the stranger man. Do you hear? Not even Papa. Children No, Mother; but will you come and play again? Nora No, no⁠—not now. Children But, Mother, you promised us. Nora Yes, but