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Support the Monkey! Tell All your Friends and Teachers |
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Support the Monkey! Tell All your Friends and Teachers |
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HELMER Yes, wasn’t that a happy thought of mine? NORA Splendid! But isn’t it good of me, too, to have given in to you about the tarantella? HELMER [Takes her under the chin.] Good of you! To give in to your own husband? Well well, you little madcap, I know you don’t mean it. But I won’t disturb you. I daresay you want to be “trying on.” NORA And you are going to work, I suppose? HELMER Yes. [Shows her a bundle of papers.] Look here. I’ve just come from the Bank[Goes towards his room.] NORA Torvald. HELMER [Stopping.] Yes? NORA If your little squirrel were to beg you for something so prettilyHELMER Well? NORA Would you do it? HELMER I must know first what it is. NORA The squirrel would skip about and play all sorts of tricks if you would only be nice and kind. HELMER Come, then, out with it. NORA Your lark would twitter from morning till nightHELMER Oh, that she does in any case. NORA I’ll be an elf and dance in the moonlight for you, Torvald. HELMER Nora-you can’t mean what you were hinting at this morning? NORA[Coming nearer.] Yes, Torvald, I beg and implore you! HELMER Have you really the courage to begin that again? NORA Yes, yes; for my sake, you must let Krogstad keep his place in the Bank. HELMER My dear Nora, it’s his place I intend for Mrs. Linden. NORA Yes, that’s so good of you. But instead of Krogstad, you could dismiss some other clerk. HELMER Why, this is incredible obstinacy! Because you have thoughtlessly promised to put in a word for him, I am to-! NORA It’s not that, Torvald. It’s for your own sake. This man writes for the most scurrilous newspapers; you said so yourself. He can do you no end of harm. I’m so terribly afraid of himHELMER Ah, I understand; it’s old recollections that are frightening you. NORA What do you mean? HELMER Of course you’re thinking of your father. NORA Yes-yes, of course. Only think of the shameful slanders wicked people used to write about father. I believe they would have got him dismissed if you hadn’t been sent to look into the thing, and been kind to him, and helped him. |
