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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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NORA [Her arms round his neck.] Torvald! Good-night! good-night! HELMER [Kissing her forehead.] Good-night, my little song-bird. Sleep well, Nora. Now I shall go and read my letters. [He goes with the letters in his hand into his room and shuts the door. NORA [With wild eyes, gropes about her, seizes HELMER’S domino, throws it round her, and whispers quickly, hoarsely, and brokenly.] Never to see him again. Never, never, never. [Throws her shawl over her head.] Never to see the children again. Never, never.- Oh that black, icy water! Oh that bottomless-! If it were only over! Now he has it; he’s reading it. Oh, no, no, no, not yet. Torvald, good-bye-! Good-bye, my little ones-! [She is rushing out by the hall; at the same moment HELMER flings his door open, and stands there with an open letter in his hand. HELMER Nora! NORA [Shrieks.] Ah-! HELMER What is this? Do you know what is in this letter? NORA Yes, I know. Let me go! Let me pass! HELMER [Holds her back.] Where do you want to go? NORA [Tries to break away from him.] You shall not save me, Torvald. HELMER [Falling back.] True! Is what he writes true? No, no, it is impossible that this can be true. NORA It is true. I have loved you beyond all else in the world. HELMER Pshaw-no silly evasions! NORA [A step nearer him.] Torvald-! HELMER Wretched woman-what have you done! NORA Let me go-you shall not save me! You shall not take my guilt upon yourself! HELMER I don’t want any melodramatic airs. [Locks the outer door.] Here you shall stay and give an account of yourself. Do you understand what you have done? Answer! Do you understand it? NORA [Looks at him fixedly, and says with a stiffeningexpression.] Yes; now I begin fully to understand it. HELMER [Walking up and down.] Oh! what an awful awakening! During all these eight years-she who was my pride and my joy-a hypocrite, a liar-worse, worse-a criminal. Oh, the unfathomable hideousness of it all! Ugh! Ugh! |
