A Doll's House: Act Three Summary & Analysis

The act opens on the same room, this time only occupied by Mrs. Linde, who is trying to read a book but doesn’t seem able to concentrate. Dance music is heard from the floor above. Mrs. Linde listens for a sound at the front door, checks her watch, obviously waiting for someone. Eventually, she sees that someone is there, and goes out to let them in. Krogstad enters, saying he found a note from her, and asking what it means. Mrs. Linde explains that she had to talk to him and that it had to be at the Helmers’ house as her house doesn’t have a back entrance. She explains that the Helmers are at the ball, and Krogstad is shocked that they are out dancing.

Mrs. Linde addresses Krogstad by his first name and asks that the two of them talk. Krogstad asks if they have anything to talk about. Mrs. Linde insists that they do; Krogstad disagrees, but Mrs. Linde says that’s because he never understood her. Krogstad says there is nothing more to understand of the “old, old story” of a “heartless woman” leaving a man as soon as she gets an offer from someone richer. Mrs. Linde asks if Krogstad truly believes it was easy for her or that she is heartless. She explains that there was nothing else she could do and that she felt bound by duty to break things off with Krogstad. Krogstad angrily remarks that it all happened for money, but Mrs. Linde points out that she had to take care of a helpless mother and two brothers. Krogstad maintains that Mrs. Linde still did not have the right to throw him over for someone else, and Mrs. Linde says she’s spent a lot of time wondering if she was justified.

Krogstad tells Mrs. Linde that when he lost her it felt as if the ground slipped away from under his feet, and that he is now “a broken man clinging to the wreck of my life.” Mrs. Linde says that help might be near, but Krogstad argues that Mrs. Linde has got in the way of help. He tells Mrs. Linde to withdraw from the position at the bank. She says she won’t because it wouldn’t benefit Krogstad if she did. He tells her to do it anyway, but she replies that life has taught her to be cautious.

Mrs. Linde points out that both she and Krogstad are struggling alone in bad situations. She laments that she has “nobody to care about, and nobody to care for.” Krogstad says it was Mrs. Linde’s own choice, but she insists that she had no choice. She then offers for the two of them to “join forces,” as together they would have a better chance than if they were each on their own. She suggests to Krogstad that she came to town because of him. She explains that she has worked all her life and that this has been a source of joy, but without anyone to work for but herself she feels empty. At first, Krogstad resists, saying Mrs. Linde is suffering from “women’s hysteria” and that she only wants to be “self-sacrificing.”

Krogstad, still uncertain, asks if Mrs. Linde knows about his past, and what people think of him. Mrs. Linde replies that Krogstad had just suggested that he would be a different person with her. Krogstad asks Mrs. Linde if she knows what she’s doing and if she has the courage to go through with it. Mrs. Linde tells him that the two of them need each other, that Krogstad’s children need a mother, and that she needs someone to mother. Krogstad takes her hands and thanks her, promising that soon he will have everybody looking up to him.

Mrs. Linde interrupts Krogstad, saying that she can hear the tarantella. She explains this means the dance is about to end and that he must go. He says he will, but tells her she doesn’t know the things he’s done against the Helmers. Mrs. Linde tells him she does know. He is surprised that she still wants to go through with being with him, but Mrs. Linde explains that she knows what despair does to people. Krogstad regrets that he can’t undo his actions, and Mrs. Linde points out that he can, that the letter is still in the box. Krogstad becomes briefly suspicious that Mrs. Linde’s whole promise to marry him is only to save Nora, but she insists that it isn’t, saying after a person has sold themselves once for other people’s sake, they don’t do it again.

Krogstad resolves to ask for his letter back unread, but Mrs. Linde asks him not to. Krogstad, confused, asks if that wasn’t the whole reason Mrs. Linde asked him to come. She says that it was, but having seen what she has seen in the past twenty-four hours she has come to the conclusion that Torvald has to know everything, saying that “all this secrecy and deception must end at once.” Krogstad tells Mrs. Linde that he won’t ask for his letter back but says that if there is anything he can do he will do it. Mrs. Linde hears the tarantella ending and tells Krogstad to go. He says he will wait for Mrs. Linde downstairs, and exits saying he has never felt so happy in his life.

Mrs. Linde tidies the room and talks to herself about how things can change and how happy she is that she has people to work for and to live for. She gets her coat and hat ready and waits excitedly for the Helmers to return. They enter, Torvald pushing Nora, who is dressed in the Italian costume, “almost forcibly” into the hall. Nora stands in the doorway, saying she wants to stay longer at the ball. She begs Torvald for another hour there, but he refuses, leading her “gently but firmly” into the room.

Mrs. Linde greets them, and both Nora and Torvald are shocked to see her there so late. Mrs. Linde says she was too late to catch them before they went upstairs but says she wanted to see them before leaving. Torvald says that Nora is indeed “worth looking at.” He says that everybody at the party thought she was lovely, but adds that she is stubborn, and that he had to use force to get her to leave. Nora says that Torvald will soon be sorry he didn’t let her stay longer. Torvald recalls the evening, saying Nora danced the tarantella well and was wildly applauded, although the dance was perhaps too realistic. He explains that he then wanted to take Nora immediately after so as not to “spoil the effect,” saying that exits must be dramatic, but that Nora doesn’t understand this.

Torvald notices that it is dark and goes in to light candles. While he is out of earshot, Nora asks Mrs. Linde what has happened. Mrs. Linde replies that she has spoken to Krogstad and that Nora has nothing to fear from him, but that Nora must tell Torvald everything. Nora responds: “I knew it” and says she won’t tell Torvald. Mrs. Linde says that then the letter will tell Torvald for her. Nora thanks her and says she now knows what must happen.

Torvald returns and asks if Mrs. Linde has finished admiring Nora. Mrs. Linde says she has and that she must go. Torvald reminds her to take her knitting, and suggests that she should embroider instead, as embroidery is prettier than knitting. Mrs. Linde bids them goodnight and tells Nora to stop being so stubborn. Once she is gone, Torvald remarks that she is “a frightful bore.”

Nora asks Torvald if he is tired, but he says he is extremely lively. Nora admits that she is very tired and wants to go to sleep, and Torvald asks if he wasn’t then right that they shouldn’t have stayed longer. Nora tells him that everything he does is right, but says it without much conviction. Torvald points out that now she is talking common sense again, and asks her if she noticed how happy Dr. Rank seemed. Nora says she didn’t get a chance to talk to him.

Torvald says how happy he is to be alone with Nora. Nora asks that he not look at her “like that,” and Torvald responds by asking if he can’t look at his “most treasured possession.” He says that he can tell she still has the tarantella in her blood and that makes her even more desirable. He delivers a speech explaining that when they are out at a party together he does not talk to Nora much, instead pretending that they are secretly in love and engaged. He then says that when they leave he pretends that they have just got married and that he is taking Nora to their new home for the first time. He tells her that as he was watching her perform the tarantella his “blood was on fire” and that was why he took her downstairs immediately after. Nora continues to refuse him, telling him to leave her alone. Torvald asks if this is a game Nora is playing, and reminds her that he is her husband.

There is a knock at the door, and Dr. Rank announces himself. Torvald is annoyed by the intrusion, but greets Dr. Rank in a friendly way. Dr. Rank explains that he heard the sound of their voices and just wanted to stop by. He tells them what a good time he had upstairs and talks about how excellent the wine and champagne were. Nora remarks that Torvald also drank a lot of champagne. Dr. Rank says he was celebrating the best possible results of a laboratory test, saying that he now has “certainty.” Nora comments that he is fond of masquerades, and asks what she and Torvald should go as next time. Torvald remarks that it is “frivolous” that Nora is already thinking about the next time, but Dr. Rank responds that she should go as Lady Luck and simply wear her everyday clothes. Nora asks what Dr. Rank will be, and he replies “invisible.” He asks Torvald for a cigar, lights it, and bids them goodnight. Nora tells him “sleep well” and asks that he tell her the same. He does, and exits. Torvald remarks that he seemed drunk, and Nora absently agrees.

Torvald goes to the letter box and says he must empty it. He notices that somebody has tried to open the lock, and finds one of Nora’s hairpins. She says it must have been the children, and Torvald instructs her to tell them not to play with it. Looking through the mail, he finds two visiting cards from Dr. Rank with black crosses above his name. He remarks that it is as if Dr. Rank is announcing his death, and Nora replies that he is, explaining that Dr. Rank told her that he would not see them when he died. Nora says she thinks it’s best when that sort of thing happens without words. Torvald, not paying much attention to her, gives a speech about how he can’t imagine Dr. Rank gone, saying that his suffering provided a background that made Torvald and Nora’s happiness even brighter. He says that it may be for the best that Dr. Rank’s suffering will end, for Rank himself and for Nora and Torvald, as it will now be just the two of them.

Torvald holds Nora and says that he sometimes wishes her life were in danger so that he could risk everything to save her. Nora tears herself away and tells Torvald to read his letters. At first Torvald says he will leave them until the morning because he just wants to be with Nora that night, but Nora asks if he can do that knowing that Dr. Rank is dying. Torvald concedes that he does feel unsettled and that “an ugly thing” has come between them because now they are thinking of death. He resolves that they go to sleep separately and kisses Nora goodnight. She puts her arms around his neck and bids him goodnight too.

Torvald takes the letters into his study. Nora, wild-eyed, wraps Torvald’s cloak around herself and whispers about never seeing him and the children again. She talks of black icy water and wishes it were all over. She says goodbye out loud to Torvald and her children and goes to leave. However, she is stopped by Torvald pushing open the door of his study.

Torvald holds up the letter and asks if Nora knows what’s in it. She admits that she does, and asks that he let her go, insisting that he not try to save her. Torvald asks in disbelief if what Krogstad writes is true, and Nora says it is, saying she loved Torvald more than anything in the world. He says this is a “paltry excuse,” calls her a “miserable woman” and asks what it is she’s done. Nora tells him again to let her go and not to try and take the blame for her. He tells her to stop play-acting, locks the front door, and says she must stay to give an account of herself.

Torvald paces up and down, saying that in the eight years they have been married, Nora has been “a hypocrite, a liar, worse than that, a criminal!” He says he should have realized something like this would happen because her father had no religion, morals, or sense of duty. He claims that this is his punishment for turning a blind eye to Nora’s father. He says that Nora has ruined his happiness and jeopardized his future, as he is now at the mercy of Krogstad. He says he must now do whatever Krogstad wants, and all because of Nora, who he calls “a feather-brained woman.”

Nora promises Torvald that after she dies, he will be free. Torvald says she is pretending and says it would not do him any good if she died, because Krogstad could still tell other people about Nora’s crime and that people might even suspect Torvald was an accomplice, or that he was behind it. He asks if Nora understands what she has done to him, and adds that it is after he has taken care of her so well all through their marriage. Nora replies coldly that she understands.

Torvald tells Nora to take her shawl off and begins to talk about what he plans to do next. He says he will try to find a way of appeasing Krogstad, and will make sure that nobody finds out about the whole situation. He tells Nora that things must appear to be the same between them, but that he will not let her raise the children, as he can’t trust her to do so. He insists that they must preserve appearances.

The doorbell rings. Torvald tells Nora to hide, but she doesn’t move. The maid enters and says there is a note for Nora. Torvald snatches it and says Nora cannot read it. He announces that it is from Krogstad. He reads it, and cries out that he is saved. Nora asks about herself, and he adds that she is also saved. He reveals that Krogstad has sent Nora’s IOU back, saying his circumstances have improved and that he regrets what he did. Torvald rips up the IOU and throws it in the fire, telling Nora that nobody can do anything to her now. He says that in the note Krogstad has written that Nora knew about the forgery and Krogstad’s threat since Christmas eve, and Torvald says how hard it must have been for her. Nora says that yes, it has been hard.

Torvald talks about the “agonies” that Nora must have suffered, but then declares that they should forget all about it. He says they can rejoice because the whole thing is over. He asks Nora why she still looks down, and before she can reply says it must be because she can’t believe Torvald has forgiven her. He tells her that he has forgiven her because he knows that she did what she did because she loved him, and that she simply didn’t have the experience to know what to do. He says that he doesn’t love her any less for that, and that she need only rely on him for guidance. He tells her he wouldn’t really be a man if he didn’t find women more attractive when they are helpless. He tells her to forget about what he said when he first found out about the debt, because now he has forgiven her. Nora thanks him for his forgiveness, and goes to leave.

Torvald asks Nora where she is going, and she answers that she is going to take off her dress from the dance. He tells her that’s a good idea, and that she should get some rest. He uses imagery of Nora as a hunted dove who he has rescued and will look after, saying that tomorrow she will see things differently and that everything will seem like it once was. He asks her if she really thought he was going to turn her out, saying that that is not what a real man would do. He says that it is a satisfying feeling for a man to know he has forgiven his wife, because it makes her his property in two senses: she is now both his wife and his child. He tells her not to worry about anything, and that he will make all the decision for her.

Nora returns, wearing her everyday clothes. Torvald, surprised, asks why she’s not in bed. Nora replies that she won’t sleep that night, and asks Torvald to sit down so they can talk. Torvald says he is frightened and doesn’t understand, and Nora replies that this is exactly her point; he does not understand her. She asks that he doesn’t interrupt and simply listens to her. She asks if it is striking to him that, in their eight years of marriage, this is the first time they have had a serious conversation together. Torvald says it depends what she means by serious, and says he wouldn’t have wanted to got her involved in things that would worry her. Nora, however, replies that she is not talking about things that would worry her.

Nora explains that Torvald has never understood her and that she has been wronged both by him and her father. Torvald, shocked, asks how that can be true of the two people who loved her more than anyone else. Nora replies that neither of them really loved her, only thought how nice it was to be in love with her. She explains that she felt pressured to think the exact same way as her father. She adds that he played with her as she played with her dolls, and that it is the same now she is married to Torvald. She says she has survived by doing “tricks” for Torvald, and that it is his fault she has never made anything of herself.

Torvald, infuriated, says that Nora is being ungrateful. He asks if she was happy in their marriage, and Nora replies that she only thought she was happy, but in reality she wasn’t. She explains that, although Torvald has been kind to her, she has only ever been his doll-wife, just as she was her father’s doll-child, saying she found it fun when Torvald came to play with her. Torvald concedes that although Nora is speaking in an “exaggerated and hysterical” way, there is some truth to what she says. He adds that now it will be different, promising that playtime will end and there will now be lessons for both her and the children. Nora tells him that he is not able to teach her how to be a good wife to him, and that she is not able to teach the children, as he pointed out only a moment ago. Torvald tells her to ignore what he said earlier, but she says he was right, and that she must now go about educating herself.

Nora reveals to Torvald that she is planning to leave him immediately, and that she will go to stay with Mrs. Linde for the night. Torvald forbids her, but Nora says there’s no use, and that she will take only her personal belongings and nothing of his. She tells him that the next day she will go back to her old home, where it will be easier for her to find something to do. Torvald says that this is madness and that Nora is blind and inexperienced. Nora points out that she is trying to get experience.

Torvald asks if she cares about leaving her husband and children, or what people will say. Nora replies that she has no interest in what people say, and that leaving is necessary for her, with an emphasis on the word “me.” Torvald says that she is betraying her “most sacred duty” to her husband and children. Nora replies that she has an equally sacred duty to herself. Torvald refutes this, saying she is “first and foremost a wife and mother.” But Nora says that even though this is what most people think, she no longer believes it, arguing that she is primarily an individual and must think for herself.

Torvald asks if Nora does not have an infallible guide to the question of her position in the home and in life: her religion. Nora replies that she doesn’t really know what religion is, and intends to figure out her thoughts on the subject when she goes away. Torvald replies that if religion cannot keep Nora “on the right path,” then he will try to awaken her moral conscience, if she has one. Nora replies that she doesn’t know, and that it’s not an easy thing to judge. She says she knows that her morals are different from Torvald’s, and also different from the law’s, which she believes must be wrong as it did not preserve her right to protect her husband and father on his deathbed. Torvald replies that she is talking like a child and doesn’t understand society. Nora replies that she doesn’t, but wants to learn.

Torvald says Nora is ill and delirious. Nora replies that she has never felt so calm and collected, and Torvald says that the only explanation behind what she is doing then must be that she doesn’t love him anymore. Nora confirms that this is true, that she is sorry because he has always been kind to her, but that she can’t help not loving him. She explains that she fell out of love with Torvald when the miracle she was waiting for didn’t happen, and that Torvald is therefore not the man she thought he was. She says that she hoped that when Torvald learned of Krogstad’s demands, he would not give in and tell Krogstad to tell the whole world. She hoped he would then step forward and take the blame for everything. However, Torvald was not willing to sacrifice himself for her.

Torvald tells Nora that nobody sacrifices his honor for the person he loves, but Nora replies that thousands of women have done so. Torvald repeats that Nora thinks and talks like “a stupid child.” Nora responds that Torvald thinks like someone she would not want to spend her life with. She points out that once he received the IOU back from Krogstad, he wanted to go on pretending that nothing had happened, except to protect Nora even more because he had realized how weak she supposedly was. She says that this made her realize she had been married to a stranger. She says she cannot bear to even think about it, and that the thought makes her want to tear herself to shreds.

Torvald acknowledges sadly that there is a “tremendous gulf” between them, and asks if there is any way to bridge it. He even promises to change, but Nora says the only way that would be possible were if his “doll” were to be taken away. Torvald says he cannot imagine being separated from her, and Nora replies that this is why she must go. She gets her things ready, and Torvald begs her to at least wait until the morning. She insists that she can’t spend the night in a strange man’s room. He asks that they stay living together “as brother and sister,” but Nora says it couldn’t last. She bids him goodbye and says she doesn’t want to see the children, knowing they are in better hands.

Torvald asks if some day things might change. Nora says she cannot know what she will be in the future, and Torvald says she will always be his wife. Nora points out that when a wife leaves her husband, he is absolved of responsibility of her, and that this is necessary for both of them to feel free. She gives him her wedding ring, and asks for his. Nora says the maids know the house better than she does, and that Mrs. Linde will come the next day to have Nora’s belongings packed and shipped. Torvald asks if Nora will think of him, and Nora replies that she reckons she will think of him and her children often. He asks if he can write to her but she refuses. He asks if he can offer to help her, but Nora replies that she does not accept help from strangers.

Torvald asks if there is any way that he could one day be more than a stranger to Nora. Nora replies only by “a miracle of miracles,” if both of them would change. Torvald seems hopeful, but Nora says she no longer believes in miracles. Torvald says he does believe, and asks how he must change. Nora said he would have to change to a point where they could make their marriage work. She bids him goodbye and exits. Torvald sinks to a chair with his face in his hands and cries out Nora’s name. He looks around at the room and exclaims that it is empty. He looks up with sudden hope, saying: “the miracle of miracles?” The play ends with the sound of the door slamming shut.