Read the excerpt from act 3 of A Doll’s House. Helmer [walking up and down] : He had so grown into our lives. I can't think of him as having gone out of them. He, with his sufferings and his loneliness, was like a cloudy background to our sunlit happiness. Well, perhaps it is best so. For him, anyway. [Standing still.] And perhaps for us too, Nora. We two are thrown quite upon each other now. [Puts his arms round her.] My darling wife, I don't feel as if I could hold you tight enough. Do you know, Nora, I have often wished that you might be threatened by some great danger, so that I might risk my life's blood, and everything, for your sake. What evidence from the passage best supports the theme that society placed expectations on men and women based on gender?
Read the excerpt from act 3 of A Doll’s House. Mrs. Linde: You seemed to me to imply that with me you might have been quite another man. Krogstad: I am certain of it. Mrs. Linde: Is it too late now? Krogstad: Christine, are you saying this deliberately? Yes, I am sure you are. I see it in your face. Have you really the courage, then—? Mrs. Linde: I want to be a mother to someone, and your children need a mother. We two need each other. Nils, I have faith in your real character—I can dare anything together with you. Krogstad [grasps her hands] : Thanks, thanks, Christine! Now I shall find a way to clear myself in the eyes of the world. Ah, but I forgot— How does the conflict in this passage develop a theme?
Read the excerpt from act 3 of A Doll’s House. Krogstad: If it were as you say, why did you write to me as you did at the time? Mrs. Linde: I could do nothing else. As I had to break with you, it was my duty also to put an end to all that you felt for me. Krogstad [wringing his hands] : So that was it. And all this—only for the sake of money! Mrs. Linde: You must not forget that I had a helpless mother and two little brothers. We couldn't wait for you, Nils; your prospects seemed hopeless then. Which theme is best developed through the events described in this passage?
Read the excerpt from act 3 of A Doll’s House. Nora: Alas, Torvald, you are not the man to educate me into being a proper wife for you. Helmer: And you can say that! Nora: And I—how am I fitted to bring up the children? Helmer: Nora! Nora: Didn't you say so yourself a little while ago—that you dare not trust me to bring them up? Helmer: In a moment of anger! Why do you pay any heed to that? Nora: Indeed, you were perfectly right. I am not fit for the task. There is another task I must undertake first. I must try and educate myself—you are not the man to help me in that. I must do that for myself. And that is why I am going to leave you now. How does Nora’s character develop the theme that taking ownership of your own life is sometimes necessary?
Read the excerpt from act 3 of A Doll’s House. Helmer: Listen to her, Mrs. Linde! She had danced her Tarantella, and it had been a tremendous success, as it deserved—although possibly the performance was a trifle too realistic—a little more so, I mean, than was strictly compatible with the limitations of art. But never mind about that! The chief thing is, she had made a success—she had made a tremendous success. Do you think I was going to let her remain there after that, and spoil the effect? No, indeed! I took my charming little Capri maiden—my capricious little Capri maiden, I should say—on my arm; took one quick turn round the room; a curtsey on either side, and, as they say in novels, the beautiful apparition disappeared. An exit ought always to be effective, Mrs. Linde; but that is what I cannot make Nora understand. Pooh! this room is hot. [Throws his domino on a chair, and opens the door of his room.] Hullo! it's all dark in here. Oh, of course—excuse me—. What evidence from the text best supports the theme that society places limits on the roles of women?
Read the excerpt from act 3 of A Doll’s House. Helmer [reeling] : True? Is this true, that I read here? Horrible! No, no—it is impossible that it can be true. Nora: It is true. I have loved you above everything else in the world. Helmer: Oh, don't let us have any silly excuses. Nora [taking a step towards him] : Torvald—! Helmer: Miserable creature—what have you done? Nora: Let me go. You shall not suffer for my sake. You shall not take it upon yourself. Helmer: No tragic airs, please. [Locks the hall door.] Here you shall stay and give me an explanation. Do you understand what you have done? Answer me! Do you understand what you have done? What evidence from the passage best supports the theme that one's true nature is revealed in times of distress?
Read the excerpt from act 3 of A Doll’s House. Krogstad [with a searching look at her] : Is that what it all means?—that you want to save your friend at any cost? Tell me frankly. Is that it? Mrs. Linde: Nils, a woman who has once sold herself for another's sake, doesn't do it a second time. Krogstad: I will ask for my letter back. Mrs. Linde: No, no. Krogstad: Yes, of course I will. I will wait here until Helmer comes; I will tell him he must give me my letter back—that it only concerns my dismissal—that he is not to read it— Mrs. Linde: No, Nils, you must not recall your letter. Krogstad: But, tell me, wasn't it for that very purpose that you asked me to meet you here? Mrs. Linde: In my first moment of fright, it was. But twenty-four hours have elapsed since then, and in that time I have witnessed incredible things in this house. Helmer must know all about it. This unhappy secret must be disclosed; they must have a complete understanding between them, which is impossible with all this concealment and falsehood going on. Krogstad: Very well, if you will take the responsibility. But there is one thing I can do in any case, and I shall do it at once. Which evidence from the text best supports the theme that it is better if the truth comes out?
Read the excerpt from act 3 of A Doll’s House. 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] : I found a note from you at home. What does this mean? Mrs. Linde: It is absolutely necessary that I should have a talk with you. Krogstad: Really? And is it absolutely necessary that it should be here? Mrs. Linde: It is impossible where I live; there is no private entrance to my rooms. Come in; we are quite alone. The maid is asleep, and the Helmers are at the dance upstairs. Which statement best explains how the conventions of plot and setting contribute to the theme?
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