A Doll’s House Henrik Ibsen (e book free reading .TXT) 📖
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- Author: Henrik Ibsen
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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
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