Alternate Ending Act III

(Takes place after Nora leaves Helmer)

NORA [knocking on the door tumultuously]: Kristina! Oh Kristina, please open up!
(Door opens)
MRS. LINDE: Nora! Come in, come in! What happened with Helmer?
NORA: Helmer was very upset but Krogstad's document made him forget all about it. [Turning away from MRS. LINDE] But I, I did something...
MRS. LINDE: What is it, Nora?
NORA (quickly turning to face MRS. LINDE) [firmly]: Kristina, I left Helmer.
MRS. LINDE: You... what?
NORA: When Helmer read Krogstad's letter, he was so angry. He was so angry and he didn't even think about me. He didn't care. Helmer simply thought only of what it would to to him and his reputation. That's when I realized.
MRS. LINDE: You realized what?
NORA: That I wasn't living. I was simply existing in Helmer's life as his incompetent doll wife in his doll house.
MRS. LINDE: So you left him? And the children?
NORA: I had to. I would be no good to any of them. I must leave to stave off any temptation to return home. I came here hoping you would let me stay here for the night.
MRS. LINDE: Why of course. Anything you need.
(The following day MRS. LINDE went back to Nora's old home to retrieve the rest of her things)
NURSE: Sir, Mrs. Linde is here to collect Mrs. Helmer's things.
TORVALD [sighing]: yes, yes. Send her in. [putting his work aside]
MRS. LINDE [standing in the doorway of HELMER'S office]: [gently and sympathetically] Good morning, Torvald.
HELMER: Good morning. You're here for my dear Nora's things I presume?
MRS. LINDE: Yes, I'm afraid so.
(HELMER leads MRS. LINDE to the bedroom)
TORVALD: When you've finished, the Nurse can see you out.
(TORVALD exits the room and goes back to his office)
Torvald [to himself]: Oh Nora. Sweet Nora. What has become of us?
(MRS. LINDE comes home with NORA'S things)
MRS. LINDE: Hello Nora.  I've gotten your things. I'll bring them to the guest room.
(NORA follows her to the room)
NORA: Thank you, Kristina.
(Knocking on the door)
MRS. LINDE: Oh it's probably just Krogstad. Please let him in.
NORA [opening the door]: Good afternoon, Krogst--
HELMER [pleading]: Nora. Please just give me a second!
NORA [closing the door]: You should go.
HELMER: Nora! We have children together! Please. Go experience everything you want. Just please, promise to come home.
NORA: I wish I could promise you such a thing. I wish you the best Torvald. Goodbye [closes the door. MRS. LINDE walks in]
MRS. LINDE: So who was it?
NORA [suppressing the truth]: Oh no one. It was just a stranger with a wrong address.

Nora lives happily. The End.

Doll's House Act II

At the start of Act II, Nora is one paranoid mess. After she failed to convince Helmer to keep Krogstad at the bank, she was worried about what he would say to Torvald. She didn't want to be deemed disreputable for the rest of her life. Torvald would certainly leave her. Getting desperate, she decided to talk to Dr. Rank to ask for his help. To butter him up before asking such a favor, Nora became extremely flirtatious with Dr. Rank, going as far as showing him her new flesh colored silk stockings. Unexpectedly, Dr. Rank confessed his love for Nora. Although I do believe Nora has feelings for Dr. Rank, it does not seem like she cares for him to the extent he cares for her. When Dr. Rank broke the news to Nora that he was dying, she responded with a sigh of relief "Then it's you..!" (Ibsen 191). Her response does not sound like someone who cares deeply for him. Although she tried to cheer him up, it just wasn't convincing. Nora was able to get more intimate with Dr. Rank than she could with her own husband. Why do you think that is? Do you think Dr. Rank would help Nora if he found out her dreadful secret?
When Krogstad confronted Nora she admitted that she had thought about suicide. Because Nora is so dramatic and bursts out hysterically often, I wouldn't doubt that she would do it. Do you think it is an actual possibility that Nora will kill herself? Nora told her secret to Mrs. Linde and she offered to help by talking to Krogstad to convince him to retrieve his letter from Helmer without it being opened. Mrs. Linde was sure she could convince Krogstad. She revealed, "There was a time when he would gladly have done anything for me." (Ibsen 202). Nora decided she would let Mrs. Linde give it a shot, but if she couldn't convince him by the time she was finished doing her tarantella, she would kill herself. Why do you think Nora would resort to such an extreme solution to her problem? Do you think the way she is treated by Helmer could be a reason as to why she has decided that suicide is a good solution for her predicament?

Doll's House Act One

After reading the first act of the play, we are introduced to five main characters. Torvald, Mrs. Linde, Krogstad, Dr. Rank, and Nora. Upon reading the first few pages of the play I began to analyze the relationship between Helmer and Nora. Within the first few pages of the play, Helmer calls to Nora by using pet names. He jauntily walked into the house and asked, "When did my squirrel come home?" (Ibsen). It seems like Helmer believes he and Nora are not equal. He treats Nora like she is a child. Torvald even wagged his finger at her when he asked her about eating the macaroons. The way Helmer interacts with Nora strikes me as peculiar. In addition, the fact that Nora doesn't find the interactions intolerable is also strange. If  you were Nora, would you let Helmer talk to you this way?
Nora is a gullible and dramatic character. When she was talking to Torvald about committing forgery Torvald made her believe that you can corrupt your children if you commit such a crime. She refused to see her children because of this. "No, no, no! Don't let them come in to me! You stay with them, nurse. Deprave my little children? Poison my home? It's not true. It can't possibly be true" (Ibsen). Nora's reaction to the children is a bit dramatic and unreasonable. She can't possibly corrupt her children by playing with them. But all it took was one word with Torvald for her to believe it, which shows her gullibility as well as how dramatic she can be. Although Torvald seems to be superior to Nora, she appears to do may things on her own without his knowledge. She knows to keep quiet about those things and she does a good job hiding until Krogstad finds out about her big secret. Should Nora tell Helmer about what she has done, or should she just keep quiet and do what Krogstad asks of her?

Henrik Ibsen Research

The stories we get to read in class are interesting and that is one of the things I like about English.

Henrik Ibsen was born on March 20, 1828 in Skien, Norway. He was raised there along with his other four siblings. Ibsen was the oldest of the five. When Henrik was 15, he dropped school and began working as an apprentice in an apothecary in Grimstad. During his free time, he worked on his poetry as well as studying for admission to the University of Christiania.

When Henrik was 23, he was appointed playwright and director of a new theatre at Bergen. This allowed him to write a play every year. In 1862, Ibsen left Norway and settled in Italy. He wrote a play there and soon left to live in Germany in 1868. Here he watched one of his plays be performed for the first time and he soon followed up on it with A Doll's House. He returned to Norway as a literary hero and died there in 1906.

http://www.biography.com/people/henrik-ibsen-37014

http://www.britannica.com/biography/Henrik-Ibsen