"Cliff Notes - Doll's House, A" - читать интересную книгу автора (Cliff Notes)

It's Christmas Eve. Nora Helmer, a beautiful young wife, has been
out doing some last-minute shopping. When she returns, her husband
Torvald immediately comes to see what his "little squirrel" has
bought. They playfully act out their roles--Torvald the big, strong
husband, Nora the dependent, adoring wife.

This is a happy Christmas for the Helmers and their children because
Torvald has recently been appointed manager of the bank. Soon
they'll be well off and won't have to scrimp. However, Torvald will
still control the cash in the house, because he feels that his
irresponsible Nora lets money run through her fingers, a trait she
"inherited" from her father.

An old school friend, Kristine Linde, comes to visit Nora. During
the conversation, Kristine reveals that she had married a wealthy
man she didn't love in order to support an invalid mother. Her
husband's death three years ago left her penniless and she's
returned to seek work. Nora promises to speak to Torvald about a job
in his bank.

Having had such a hard time herself, Kristine is scornful of Nora's
easy married life until Nora describes a secret she has been
concealing for many years. Early in her marriage, when Torvald
became seriously ill, she secretly borrowed a large sum to finance ayear-long stay in a warmer climate. Since he did not know the extent
of his illness, and since, even if he had known, borrowing money
would have been against his principles, she pretended the money was
from her late father. Since then she has been struggling to repay
the debt by economizing from her personal allowance and by secretly
working at home.

The women are interrupted by the arrival of Nils Krogstad, a clerk
in Torvald's bank. When Krogstad goes into the study, Dr. Rank, an
old family friend, comes out. Knowing of Krogstad's reputation as a
forger, Rank tells the women that Krogstad is one of those "moral
invalids." Unknown to any of them, Torvald is firing Krogstad. This
leaves a vacancy, and, when Torvald joins them, he agrees to give
Kristine the job. Torvald, Dr. Rank, and Kristine then leave
together.

As Nora is playing happily with her three young children, Krogstad
reappears. It turns out that he is the one who had lent the money to
Nora. He also knows that Nora not only forged her father's signature
as cosigner of the loan but dated it several days after his death.
Krogstad leaves after threatening to expose Nora unless he gets his
job back.

Nora pleads with Torvald to reinstate Krogstad, but he refuses. She
is frantic, imagining that once Krogstad reveals the truth, Torvald
will himself assume the blame for the forgery and be ruined.