Act 1
Cards (60)
- ‘Is that my skylark twittering out there? … Is that my squirrel rustling?’
- ‘Has my little squanderbird been overspending again
- ‘Oh, Nora, Nora, how like a woman!‘
- ‘A home that is founded on debts and borrowing can never be a place of freedom and beauty.’
- ‘(turns quickly) Money!’
- ‘You’ve got a big salary now, and you’re going to make lots and lots of money.’
- ‘(Plays with his coat buttons; not looking at him) If you really want to give me something, you could - you could - ‘
- ‘You can’t deny it, Nora dear. (Puts his arm around her waist.) The squanderbird‘s a pretty little creature, but she gets through an awful lot of money. It‘s incredible what an expensive pet she is for a man to keep.’
- ‘(Hums and smiles, quietly gleeful) Hm. If only you knew how many expenses we larks and squirrels have, Torvald.’
- ‘You know I could never act against your wishes.’
- ‘Yes it‘s a wonderful thing to know that one‘s position is assured and that one has ample income. Don’t you agree? It’s good to know that, isn’t it?’
- ‘All alone. How dreadful that must be for you.’
- ‘It must be lovely to have enough to cover one’s needs, anyway.’
- ‘We’re going to have heaps and heaps of money!’
- ‘Nora, Nora, haven’t you grown up yet? When we were at school you a were an awful little spendthrift.’
- ‘Oh God, oh God, Christine, isn’t it a wonderful thing to be alive and happy! Oh but how beastly of me! I’m only talking about myself.‘
- ‘Tell me, is it really true you didn’t love your husband? Why did you marry him, then?‘
- ‘I didn’t feel I could say no.’
- ‘No, Nora. Just unspeakably empty. No one to live for anymore.’
- ‘I have no pappa to pay for my holidays, Nora’
- ‘One has to live; and so one becomes completely egocentric.’
- ‘He will too, Christine. Just you leave it to me. I’ll lead up to it so delicately, so delicately; I’ll get him in the right mood.’
- ‘It’s sweet of you to bother so much about me, Nora. Especially since you know so little of the worries and hardships of life.’
- ‘You’re a child, Nora.’
- ‘You’re like the rest. You all think I’m incapable of getting down to anything serious - ‘
- ‘Well, a wife can’t borrow money without her husband’s consent.’
- ‘Ah, but when a wife has a little business sense, and knows how to be clever - ‘
- ‘He said I was frivolous, and that it was his duty as a husband not to pander to my moods and caprices’
- ‘He’s frightfully strict about such matters. And besides - he’s so proud of being a man - it’d be so painful and humiliating for him to know that he owed anything to me. It’d completely wreck our relationship. This life we have built together would no longer exist.’
- ‘When Torvald no longer loves me as he does now, when it no longer amuses him to see me dance and dress up and play the fool for him. Then it might be useful to have something up my sleeve. (Breaks off) Stupid, stupid, stupid! That time will never come.’
- ‘But it was great fun, though, sitting there working and earning money. It was almost like being a man.’
- ‘There’s a moral cripple in with Helmer at this very moment -’
- ‘Krogstad … He’s crippled all right; morally twisted. But even he started off by announcing, as though it were a matter of importance, that he had to live.’
- ‘Why are you laughing? Do you really know what society is?‘
- ‘What do I care about society? I think it’s a bore.’
- ‘Macaroons! I say! I thought they were forbidden here.’
- ‘Come, Mrs Linde. This is for mothers only.’
- ‘My sweet little baby doll!’
- ’No, don’t - I’ll undress them myself, Anne-Marie. No, please let me; it’s such fun.’
- ‘Just because one’s a woman it doesn’t necessarily mean that - When one is in a humble position, Mr Krogstad, one should think twice before offending someone who - hm - !’