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

hand. Will you promise, Torvald dear? Helmer I promise. This evening I will be wholly and absolutely at your service, you helpless little mortal. Ah, by the way, first of all I will just⁠—Goes towards the hall door. Nora What are you going to do there? Helmer Only see if any letters have come. Nora No, no! don’t do that, Torvald! Helmer Why not? Nora Torvald, please don’t. There is nothing there. Helmer Well, let me look. Turns to go to the letter box. Nora, at the piano, plays the first bars of the Tarantella. Helmer stops in the doorway. Aha! Nora I can’t dance tomorrow if I don’t practise with you. Helmer Going up to her. Are you really so afraid of it, dear? Nora Yes, so dreadfully afraid of it. Let me practise at once; there is time now, before we go to dinner. Sit down and play for me, Torvald dear; criticise me, and correct me as you play. Helmer With great pleasure, if you wish me to. Sits down at the piano. Nora Takes out of the box a tambourine and a long variegated shawl. She hastily drapes the shawl round her. Then she springs to the front of the stage and calls out. Now play for me! I am going to dance! Helmer plays and Nora dances. Rank stands by the piano behind Helmer, and looks on. Helmer As he plays. Slower, slower! Nora I can’t do it any other way. Helmer Not so violently, Nora! Nora This is the way. Helmer Stops playing. No, no⁠—that is not a bit right. Nora Laughing and swinging the tambourine. Didn’t I tell you so? Rank Let me play for her. Helmer Getting up. Yes, do. I can correct her better then. Rank sits down at the piano and plays. Nora dances more and more wildly. Helmer has taken up a position beside the stove, and during her dance gives her frequent instructions. She does not seem to hear him; her hair comes down and falls over her shoulders; she pays no attention to it, but goes on dancing. Enter Mrs. Linde. Mrs. Linde Standing as if spellbound in the doorway. Oh!⁠— Nora As she dances. Such fun, Christine! Helmer My dear darling Nora, you are dancing as if your life depended on it. Nora So it does. Helmer Stop, Rank; this is sheer madness. Stop, I tell you! Rank stops playing, and Nora suddenly stands still. Helmer goes up to her. I could never have believed it. You have forgotten everything I taught you. Nora Throwing away the tambourine. There, you see. Helmer You will want a lot of coaching. Nora Yes, you see how much I need it. You must coach me up to the last minute. Promise me that, Torvald! Helmer You can depend on me. Nora You must not think of anything but me, either today or tomorrow; you mustn’t open a single letter⁠—not even open the letter box⁠— Helmer Ah, you are still afraid of that fellow⁠— Nora Yes, indeed I am. Helmer Nora, I can tell from your looks that there is a letter from him lying there. Nora I don’t know; I think there is; but you must not read anything of that kind now. Nothing horrid must come between us until this is all over. Rank Whispers to Helmer. You mustn’t contradict her. Helmer Taking her in his arms. The child shall have her way. But tomorrow night, after you have danced⁠— Nora Then you will be free. The Maid appears in the doorway to the right. Maid Dinner is served, ma’am. Nora We will have champagne, Helen. Maid Very good, ma’am. Exit. Helmer Hullo!⁠—are we going to have a banquet? Nora Yes, a champagne banquet until the small hours. Calls out. And a few macaroons, Helen⁠—lots, just for once! Helmer Come, come, don’t be so wild and nervous. Be my own little skylark, as you used. Nora Yes, dear, I will. But go in now and you too, Doctor Rank. Christine, you must help me to do up my hair. Rank Whispers to Helmer as they go out. I suppose there is nothing⁠—she is not expecting anything? Helmer Far from it, my dear fellow; it is simply nothing more than this childish nervousness I was telling you of. They go into the right-hand room. Nora Well! Mrs. Linde Gone out of town. Nora I could tell from your face. Mrs. Linde He is coming home tomorrow evening. I wrote a note for him. Nora You should have let it alone; you must prevent nothing. After all, it is splendid to be waiting for a wonderful thing to happen. Mrs. Linde What is it that you are waiting for? Nora Oh, you wouldn’t understand. Go in to them, I will come in a moment. Mrs. Linde goes into the dining room. Nora stands still for a little while, as if to compose herself. Then she looks at her watch. Five o’clock. Seven hours until midnight; and then four-and-twenty hours until the next midnight. Then the Tarantella will be over. Twenty-four and seven? Thirty-one hours to live. Helmer From the doorway on the right. Where’s my little skylark? Nora Going to him with her arms outstretched. Here she is! Act III

The table has been placed in the middle of the stage, with chairs around it. A lamp is burning on the table. The door into the hall stands open. Dance music is heard in the room above.

Mrs. Linde is sitting at the table idly turning over the leaves of a book; she tries to read, but does not seem able to collect her thoughts. Every now and then she listens intently for a sound at the outer door. Mrs. Linde Looking at her watch. Not yet⁠—and the time is nearly up. If only he does not⁠—. Listens again. Ah, there he is. Goes into the hall and opens the outer door carefully. Light footsteps are heard on the stairs. She whispers. Come in. There is no one here. Krogstad In the doorway.