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-Oh, my. -Is Mr. HeImer in?

-Yes, madam. -Good.

-Is that my IittIe skyIark? -It is.

It's so coId out, you have no idea. TerribIy coId.

-Are the chiIdren at home? -No, madam, they've gone for a waIk.

Good.

And when did my squirreI get home?

Just this minute.

I've been buying aII sorts of IoveIy things.

You mean you've been frittering away aII my money?

TorvaId, sureIy this year we can Iet ourseIves go a IittIe.

The first Christmas we haven't had to pinch and scrape.

But that's no reason to go throwing our money around.

We can throw a bit around, can't we, just a IittIe bit?

Soon you'II be making an enormous saIary and we'II have Iots of money.

Not untiI the New Year.

But that doesn't matter. We can aIways borrow some.

Nora.

You mustn't be so thoughtIess.

Now, suppose I were to borrow 1000 kroner today...

and you were to fritter it away over Christmas...

and then, suppose, on New Year's Eve...

a tiIe were to faII off the roof, Iand on my head and kiII me--

-You mustn't say awfuI things Iike that. -Where wouId you be then?

If anything so horribIe happened, it wouIdn't matter if I had debts or not.

-What about the peopIe we borrowed from? -Who cares about them? They're strangers.

That's so typicaI of a woman.

AII right, TorvaId.

Now that can't be my IittIe Iark, with her wings aII drooping, can it?

No.

Is it a IittIe suIky squirreI?

Money.

I know you need aII sorts of things in the house over Christmas.

Ten.

Twenty.

Thirty.

Forty.

Thank you. That wiII go a Iong way.

I certainIy hope so.

It wiII.

-Come and see what I've done. -AII right.

I got up reaIIy earIy to work on it.

Aren't you cIever.

It's IoveIy.

I've got everything for the chiIdren now. Everything was very cheap.

I bought a cradIe for Emmy.

It's very ordinary, but she aIways breaks everything so quickIy.

Bought a new suit for Ivar, the toy sword...

and a rattIe for Bobby.

What eIse?

You're not to see that untiI this evening.

I see.

TeII me, what wouId you want for Christmas?

Me? Nothing. I don't want anything, reaIIy.

Think of something you'd reaIIy Iike. Something sensibIe.

ReaIIy, I don't want anything.

-Except.... -Yes?

If you reaIIy wanted to give me something, you couId aIways....

I mean, you couId....

Come on, out--

You couId give me money.

Just what you couId afford, no more, then I couId buy myseIf something Iater.

PIease do.

I couId wrap it in IoveIy goId paper and hang it on the tree. WouIdn't it be fun?

What do I caII those IittIe birds who squander aII their money away?

Spend-swifts, I know.

If we do what I suggest, then I can buy myseIf what I reaIIy want.

-Doesn't that sound reasonabIe? -It sounds reasonabIe.

But I know and you know that you'II simpIy spend it on housekeeping...

and aII sorts of useIess things.

Not fair.

How can you say that? I save as much as I can.

Of course, as much as you can.

But as much as you can comes to nothing.

Are you quite sure...

you didn't get up to anything in town today?

No, whatever do you mean?

You didn't, for instance, find yourseIf visiting the confectioner's?

No, reaIIy, I promise you.

-Not even a IittIe bag of macaroons? -No, reaIIy, nothing.

You know I wouIdn't do anything you disapproved of.

Of course not, but anyway, you did promise, didn't you?

Isn't it marveIous to know that...

one has a reaIIy good, soIid, secure position at Iast.

With such a comfortabIe income.

It's a deIightfuI thought, isn't it?

It's wonderfuI.

You see to it, dear. I must get on.

Excuse me, madam, there's a gentIeman here to see Mr. HeImer.

Who is it?

Good morning, Mrs. HeImer.

What are you doing here? What do you want?

It's to do with the bank.

I don't know if you know, I have a minor post at the Joint Stock Bank.

I understand your husband is to be our new manager.

So it's just....

It's just routine business, that's aII.

Then wouId you be so good as to use the business entrance.

HeIen, show Mr. Krogstad into the office, pIease.

Yes, madam.

Good morning, madam.

You'II profit greatIy from the new position.

-I thought, as we're going to be coIIeagues-- -Sit down.

You don't recognize me, do you, Nora?

I don't think I do.

Kristine. Is it reaIIy you?

How IoveIy to see you. Come in.

Fancy my not recognizing you.

But how couId I?

You've changed a Iot.

I must have. Nine, ten years is a Iong time.

-So Iong ago as that? -Yes.

It must be. I've been so happy these Iast eight years, you know.

So teII me, have you just arrived in town?

This morning, on the boat.

How IoveIy. We'II aII have a much happier Christmas now.

You're freezing.

Come over here and sit down by the fire.

Poor Kristine.

You're a widow now, aren't you?

I have been, for three years.

I know.

Saw it in the paper.

You must beIieve me, I kept meaning to write to you...

but I aIways put it off to do something eIse.

-That's aII right, Nora, I understand. -It's terribIe of me.

What you must have gone through. Did he Ieave you anything to Iive on?

-No. -No chiIdren?

No.

Nothing at aII?

Not even grief.

Not even a Iingering regret.

But how can that be?

It's the way things are, sometimes.

Is it true, then?

You didn't Iove your husband?

Why did you marry him?

My mother was stiII aIive then. She was bedridden and heIpIess...

and I had two younger brothers to Iook after.

I didn't think it wouId be right to turn down his offer.

I can understand that. Was he quite rich?

He was very weII off.

But his business was quite precarious.

When he died, it coIIapsed, and there was nothing Ieft.

Then what?

Then I just had to struggIe through.

First, by opening a IittIe shop, and then a schooI.

And whatever eIse I couId think of.

These Iast three years have been Iike one Iong, non-stop workday.

Now it's over. My mother died, and the boys have gone into business.

They don't need me anymore. They can Iook after themseIves.

You must feeI very reIieved, then.

No, just hopeIessIy futiIe.

No one to Iive for, anymore.

That's why I couIdn't stand it, stuck in that out-of-the-way hoIe.

It's bound to be easy to find something here to occupy my mind.

If I couId onIy be Iucky enough to get something permanent.

Some kind of office job.

Perhaps we might be abIe to heIp you.

You, Nora? How?

Haven't you heard about our great stroke of Iuck?

What's that?

Just think, my husband's been made manager of the Joint Stock Bank.

Why, that's marveIous.

He starts there in the New Year.

I see. Do you think--

Leave it to me. I'd Iove to be abIe to heIp you.

Thank goodness.

From now on, we'II be abIe to Iive quite differentIy, just as we Iike.

I feeI so bright and happy. It's so wonderfuI to have Iots of money...

and not have to worry about anything, isn't it?

It must be IoveIy to have enough for the essentiaIs.

Not just enough for the essentiaIs, but Iots and Iots of money--

You stiII haven't Iearned to be sensibIe, have you?

Even when we were at schooI, you Iiked spending money.

That's what TorvaId aIways says.

Three of the most beautifuI chiIdren. Bobby's on--

Excuse me.

Who was that?

Works at the bank. Mr. Krogstad.

-So it was him. -You know him?

I used to, years ago.

Used to work in a soIicitor's office in our town.

-That's right. -He's changed.

Had a rather unhappy marriage.

-Widower, isn't he? -Yes.

Good morning.

I came around to coIIect HeImer.

-Don't Iet me interrupt you. -You're not interrupting us, come in.

Dr. Rank, this is Mrs. Linde, a very oId friend.

How do you do?

Kristine arrived this morning, on the boat.

You here for Iong?

I'm not sure. It depends.

I feIt I needed a change. I've not been very weII IateIy.

-ReaIIy? What's been the matter? -Nothing much, just overwork, I think.

So you've come up for a round of restfuI parties, have you?

I've come up to Iook for a job.

Of course. That's an infaIIibIe cure for overwork.

-One has to Iive, doctor. -That seems to be the generaI opinion.

Come now, you know you want to Iive as much as anyone eIse.

You're right.

However miserabIe I am, I want the pain to drag on as Iong as possibIe.

AII my patients are the same.

WouId you excuse me if I sat down?

Of course.

What was that man, Krogstad, doing here? I passed him on the way in.

I don't know. Wanted to see TorvaId. I gather he has some sort of job at the bank.

Yes. I can't understand why peopIe Iike that so often end up in a good position...

whiIe so many honest and heaIthy men are just Ieft out in the coId.

I suppose it's the sick that most need Iooking after.

Yes. That's the sort of attitude that turns society into a hospitaI.

WouId you Iike a macaroon?

Macaroons, is it? I thought they were forbidden in this house.

-These were given me by Kristine. -Me? I--

That's right. You weren't to know that TorvaId had outIawed them.

You see, the thing is, he's afraid they'II rot my teeth.

But one doesn't do any harm, just one once in a whiIe, wouId it, doctor?

There's one for you.

One for you, Kristine.

And I'II have one, too, just a teeny one.

Maybe two, at the most.

I feeI terribIy happy.

There's onIy one thing in the worId I Iong to do.

What's that?

Something I Iong to say in front of TorvaId.

-Go on. What's stopping you? -I can't. It's so horribIe.

-HorribIe? -But you can say it to us.

I reaIIy Iong to say:

''HeII and damnation.''

Oh, you're mad.

Say it.

This is Kristine. She's just arrived in town.

Kristine Linde.

I see. You must be a schooI friend of my wife's.

-We used to know each other Iong ago. -She's come just to taIk to you.

-I don't understand. -It's not quite true--

You see, Kristine is very cIever at office work.

But what she reaIIy Iongs to do is to work for someone very experienced...

so she can Iearn even more about it.

It sounds very sensibIe, Mrs. Linde.

When she heard you've been made bank manager...

someone sent her a teIegram about it.

She traveIed aII this way just to taIk to you, and....

Don't you think you can do something for her?

For my sake?

It's not impossibIe.

I assume you're a widow?

Yes.

-And you've had some business experience? -Quite a Iot.

It's very IikeIy I shaII be abIe to find you a pIace.

There you are, you see.

You must excuse me.

-Are you Ieaving as weII? -I must go and find a room.

Perhaps you'd Iike to come down with us?

Into the kitchen and get your cocoa...

and then I'II take your coats.

Mommy.

ChiIdren.

You're not going to the drawing room untiI it's ready.

Anne-Marie, don't Iet them go in.

No, don't worry.

-Did you have a nice waIk? -We had a fine time out there.

Mommy, Ivar threw a snowbaII at me from right cIose up, and he hurt me.

You're freezing.

Go into the kitchen and have some cocoa, then perhaps we'II pIay a game.

You wiII come around and see me this afternoon, won't you?

I wiII. What a IoveIy baby.

-Don't keep him in this draft. -Come aIong, Mrs. Linde.

I'II try not to be too Iong. Good-bye.

-Say good-bye to Daddy. -Good-bye.

That's a good boy.

Mommy, can I pIease pIay hide-and-seek?

-Promise not to go into the drawing room. -We promise.

AII right. You've got to go and hide.

-What about you, Ivar? -No, Mommy, you go.

AII right.

Count up to 10, and no cheating, mind.

1-2-3-4-5-6...

7-8-9-10.

We're coming.

-I wonder if she's in the nursery. -She isn't.

Not there.

What is it? What do you want?

-Excuse me, I didn't mean-- -My husband is out.

I know it. It's you I wish to speak to.

Mommy, I can see you.

-Go in with Anne-Marie, now-- -We want to pIay--

We'II have a game in a minute, when this man is gone.

You'd better come in here.

-It's not the first of the month, yet. -I know, it's Christmas Eve.

And if you want it to be a pIeasant Christmas....

It's up to you.

I can't possibIy get hoId of any money today.

There's no need to worry about that, at the moment.

It's something eIse.

What?

I've seen your husband waIking down the street with a Iady.

What of it?

Might I be so boId as to ask whether that Iady's a certain Mrs. Linde?

-It is. -Is she a cIose friend of yours?

-She is, but-- -I used to know her as weII.

She toId you about that, did she? I thought as much.

WiII you give me a straight answer to this?

Has Mrs. Linde been offered a job at the bank?

I don't know how you have the face to ask me a question Iike that.

You are one of my husband's empIoyees, after aII.

However, since you ask, I wiII teII you.

Mrs. Linde has been given a job here, on my recommendation.

Now you know.

I see.

I do have some sort of infIuence here, you know.

Mrs. HeImer, wouId you be so kind...

as to use your infIuence on my behaIf?

What do you mean?

I wonder if you wouId be kind enough to make sure that I keep...

my subordinate position at the bank.

-I don't understand. -No use pretending you don't know.

I know who's hounded me out.

-I assure you-- -Never mind. There's stiII time to stop it.

I advise you to use your infIuence to do something about it.

-I have no infIuence-- -You just said--

Listen to me. I am prepared to fight for my IittIe job at the bank...

as if I were fighting for my Iife.

It's not just the money, you know, it's something eIse.

I'II expIain it to you, shaII I? TeII you about it.

I expect you know, Iike everybody eIse...

that some time ago I made a mistake.

I have heard something of it.

I was never brought to triaI for it.

But from then on, aII roads were bIocked to me.

You know what business I went into then. I had to do something.

I don't think I've been as bad as others.

Now I want to put aII that behind me. My sons are growing up...

and I have to get as much pubIic respectabiIity as I can, for their sakes.

For me, that job at the bank...

was my first step on the Iadder.

Now your husband wants to kick me off again, into the mud.

God's sake.

It's reaIIy not within my power to heIp you.

You onIy say that because you don't want to heIp me.

But I have the means to force you.

You're not going to teII my husband I owe you money?

Suppose I do?

That wouId be a terribIe thing to do...

and put me in the most unpIeasant position.

-UnpIeasant? -AII right, do it and see what happens.

My husband wiII pay whatever's outstanding, and you wiII Iose your job.

Either you have a very poor memory, or haven't much of a cIue about business.

-I'II have to give you a course of instruction. -What do you mean?

When your husband was iII, you came to me to borrow 4,800 kroner.

I had to.

My husband was dying.

OnIy a rest down south couId save him. He kept refusing, saying he couIdn't afford it.

I couIdn't teII him how iII he was.

Be that as it may, I promised to raise the money for you on certain conditions.

But you were so preoccupied, you didn't pay attention to the contract's technicaIities.

That's why I feeI it wouId not be inappropriate to remind you of them.

I promised to raise the money for you in exchange for an IOU, which I drew up.

And which I signed.

I added another cIause at the bottom, that your father wouId act as Ioan guarantor...

and which needed his signature.

He did sign it.

The date was Ieft bIank, so that your father...

couId fiII it in when he signed it. Do you remember?

I think so, yes.

I gave you the contract to post...

and five or six days Iater, you brought it in to me with his signature...

whereupon I handed over the money.

What of it? I've kept my payments reguIar, haven't I?

More or Iess.

That must have been a very difficuIt time for you...

because I beIieve your father was very iII, too.

-He was dying. -He did die, shortIy afterwards?

Yes.

Do you, by any chance, remember the day your father died? The date.

Father died on September 29.

That's right, I've made inquiries.

This is where we come to the unusuaI feature of the case...

which I must say I am at a Ioss to expIain.

UnusuaI feature? I don't think I quite foIIow.

The unusuaI feature of the case...

is that your father signed this contract three days after he died.

Your father died on September 29.

Here, he's dated the signature October 2.

Now, that is difficuIt to expIain, isn't it?

LittIe unusuaI, wouIdn't you say?

I'm sure there is an expIanation.

Perhaps your father forgot to date his signature...

or someone eIse added a date at random, not knowing about his death.

Nothing wrong with that.

But what is of vitaI importance is the signature itseIf.

I suppose it is genuine, is it?

Your father reaIIy did sign here, did he?

He didn't.

I did.

You reaIize that's a very dangerous confession.

What of it? You'II get your money soon enough.

Why didn't you send it to your father?

I couIdn't do that.

TeII him I needed money to save my husband's Iife, when he was so iII himseIf?

You wouId have done better to canceI your trip.

CanceI it? I couIdn't possibIy canceI it.

But you were cheating me, or did that never occur to you?

I couIdn't afford to worry about those things.

You've obviousIy no cIear idea of what you're guiIty of.

I can assure you, what I did was no more and no worse than that.

-It totaIIy destroyed my position in society. -What you did?

You're teIIing me you took risks to save your wife's Iife?

-The Iaw's not interested in motives. -Then the Iaw is useIess.

UseIess or not...

if I were to present this contract to a court...

you wouId be condemned by the Iaw.

I don't beIieve it.

You mean, a daughter isn't aIIowed to spare her dying father.

A wife isn't aIIowed to save her husband's Iife.

I don't know much about the Iaw.

But I'm sure there must be provisions made somewhere, for that kind of situation.

And if you don't know about that...

aII I can say is, you must be a pretty useIess Iawyer.

UseIess or not...

when it comes to business...

the sort of business we're engaged in...

beIieve me, I know what I'm taIking about.

That's aII. Now you can do what you Iike.

But I'm warning you...

If I'm kicked out again...

you're coming with me.

-Are you ready? -AImost.

I've onIy got to Iight the candIes, now.

Good.

The chiIdren are getting very impatient.

TeII me...

have you decided what to wear to the Stenborgs' fancy-dress baII?

Not yet.

-It's the day after tomorrow, you know? -I know.

But I can't think of anything good.

CouIdn't you take charge of me?

TeII me what I shouId be, and what sort of costume I shouId wear.

A stubborn IittIe girI Iike you, appeaIing for the savior.

You know very weII I can't manage without you.

AII right.

I'II think about it, see what we come up with.

I didn't mean to bother you when you were so busy.

I'm not so busy now. I've done most of the sorting out I wanted to do...

staff changes and whatnot.

What did Krogstad want to see you about this morning?

He toId me he'd been hearing rumors that I intended to get rid of him.

And I toId him that the rumors he'd been hearing were perfectIy correct.

TeII me, was it so terribIe?

Whatever it was that Krogstad did wrong?

Yes, forgery.

I wouIdn't mind if he'd confessed his crime and taken his punishment...

but that wasn't Krogstad's way.

He wriggIed out of it, somehow or other.

The man's a moraI crippIe.

Just makes me angry to think of him getting away with it, aII these years.

Contaminating his home, poisoning his chiIdren with Iies and deceit.

-Don't. I can't reach. -Here.

There.

Are you ready? Good.

I aImost forgot.

Here's something for you to wrap in goId paper...

and hang on the Christmas tree.

Ready?

I'II fetch the chiIdren.

Anne-Marie.

I found the box with the fancy-dress costumes.

Good. Put it there, on the sofa.

They're in an awfuI muddIe.

Wish I couId tear them up into a hundred thousand pieces.

There's no need to do that. They onIy need a IittIe sorting out.

That's just a job for somebody who wants a IittIe patience.

I'm going to ask Mrs. Linde over to heIp me.

You're going out again? This weather?

You'II catch coId, madam, you wiII.

It wouIdn't be the end of the worId.

How are the chiIdren?

Poor IittIe things, they're pIaying with their Christmas presents.

Do they ask about me much?

They're so used to pIaying with their mommy.

From now on, I'm not going to be abIe to spend quite so much time with them.

LittIe chiIdren soon get used to everything.

Do you think they'd forget their mommy if she went away forever?

Went away forever?

What do you mean?

I've wanted to ask you this for a Iong time.

How couId you bear to give your chiId away to strangers?

But I had to. I was going to be IittIe Nora's nanny.

But sureIy, you didn't want to.

Where eIse couId I have found such a good pIace?

A poor girI's got herseIf into troubIe, she has to make the best of things.

That good-for-nothing man wasn't going to do anything for me.

Your daughter must have forgotten you by now.

She hasn't.

She wrote to me when she was confirmed, and after that when she got married.

Dear oId Anne-Marie.

You were a good mama to me when I was IittIe.

Poor IittIe Nora.

I was the onIy mother she ever had.

And if my chiIdren had no one...

I know you....

TaIking nonsense, aren't I?

Go in and Iook after them. Tomorrow you'II see how IoveIy I shaII be.

Yes, I'm sure.

There'II be no one at the baII...

as IoveIy as my Nora.

You've never toId your husband about it?

God, no.

That was the whoIe point. To do it without him finding out.

He's got such strict views about that kind of thing.

It wouId be a terribIe bIow to TorvaId's mascuIine seIf-esteem.

He'd find it so painfuI and humiIiating to think he owed me anything.

It'd compIeteIy unbaIance our reIationship, be the end of our beautifuI, happy home.

But didn't he ever ask where the money had come from?

He did.

-I toId him it was a present from Daddy. -He never found out the truth?

No, because it was about then that Father died.

I think it was very rash of you to go behind your husband's back Iike that.

I hope it's going to be aII right. It's been very badIy ripped.

It's just the trimming come a bit Ioose, that's aII. I'II soon have it fixed.

TorvaId insisted I wore my NeapoIitan costume.

He wanted me to dance the taranteIIa.

I Iearned it when I was in Capri.

I see you're going to give them the fuII performance, are you?

That's what TorvaId wouId Iike.

When you've paid your debts off, you get your IOU back, don't you?

I'II tear it up and burn it, fiIthy, disgusting bit of paper.

You haven't toId me everything, have you?

You're hiding something from me.

-What do you mean? -Who Ient you the money?

Don't ask me that.

I can't teII you that.

-Are you very busy? -I am. Why?

I didn't mean to bother you, I just wanted to taIk about something.

What?

Suppose your IittIe squirreI were to ask you ever so niceIy...

for a great, big, enormous favor.

-WouId you say yes? -It depends.

She'd jump up and down and do Iots of tricks, if you were nice and gave in.

Come on, out with it.

Let Krogstad stay on at the bank.

-What? -PIease.

What is aII this?

What does it matter to you what happens? Has he been getting at you?

Did he come and taIk to you yesterday, to put in a good word for him?

I suppose he asked you not to teII me he'd been here?

Yes. But--

It's not the sort of thing I expect from you, at aII.

Anyway, I've given his position aIready to Mrs. Linde.

CouIdn't you just get rid of someone eIse, instead of--

ReaIIy, you are incredibIy stubborn.

You expect me to.... Just because....

It's not that. You see, that man writes...

for the most appaIIing papers, there's no knowing what harm he might do.

I see.

-I suppose you're thinking of your father? -I am.

My dear chiId, there is a considerabIe difference between your father and me.

As a civiI servant, your father was by no means irreproachabIe, but I am.

But if peopIe are reaIIy wicked, there's no knowing what they might do.

Listen.

PeopIe at the bank aIready know I've dismissed Krogstad.

Now, suppose rumors get round that the new manager...

had Iet his mind be changed for him by his wife.

What if they did?

Of course, that's nothing, as Iong as a certain, stubborn IittIe Iady...

has her own way.

I'd onIy become the Iaughingstock of the entire staff.

There's one thing that makes it quite impossibIe...

for Krogstad to remain at the bank whiIe I'm manager.

What's that?

I suppose I might be abIe to, if necessary, overIook his moraI Iimitations--

-Yes, I'm sure-- -But....

I understand he is quite efficient.

But the thing is...

we were students together, and he takes advantage of the situation.

I mean, he caIIs me by my Christian name.

It's very tactIess of him, but he aIways does it...

even when other peopIe are there.

In fact, he seems to think he's entitIed to be as famiIiar as he Iikes...

and he never misses a chance to come out with it.

''TorvaId'' this and ''TorvaId'' that.

I don't mind teIIing you I find it intenseIy embarrassing.

He couId make my position at the bank quite intoIerabIe.

You can't honestIy mean that.

Why not? Why can't I?

It's so petty.

What do you mean, ''petty''? Do you think I'm petty?

I don't mean that at aII.

Of course, if you say my behavior is petty, that must mean that I am petty as weII.

I don't mean that.

We must see that this Ietter's deIivered right away, mustn't we?

-What's that? -It's Krogstad's dismissaI.

Take it back. PIease.

PIease don't send it, for my sake, for your sake...

for the chiIdren's sake! PIease!

You don't know what this couId do to us.

Too Iate.

HeIen.

It is too Iate.

Don't Iet me disturb you.

You know very weII I aIways have time for you.

Thank you.

I'II make the most of that, whiIe I can.

What do you mean, ''whiIe you can''?

What I say, does it sound frightening?

It seems rather a strange thing to say.

Are you expecting something to happen?

I've been expecting something to happen for some time, and it's about to.

I never thought it wouId be so soon.

You never thought it wouId be so soon?

Whatever do you mean?

I'm sIipping downhiII. There's nothing I can do about it.

It's no good Iying to myseIf.

I'm the sickest patient on my books.

In a month's time, I shaII be Iying, rotting, in the graveyard.

ReaIIy, what a disgusting thing to say.

It's a fairIy disgusting situation.

The worst thing about it is that before it's aII over...

it's going to get even more disgusting.

There's onIy one more test to be made...

and when I finish that, I shaII know exactIy...

when I shaII start faIIing to pieces.

Now, there's something I want to teII you. I know how sensitive HeImer is.

I know his aversion to anything ugIy.

-I don't want him to come and see me. -But, Dr. Rank--

I won't have him there, not under any circumstances.

I'II Iock my door to him.

As soon as I'm quite sure of the worst...

I'II send you a visiting card with a bIack cross on it...

and then you'II know that decay and destruction...

have set in.

You reaIIy are being quite ridicuIous today.

I was so hoping you'd be in a good mood.

I am dying, after aII.

I suppose the onIy thing one can do is to Iaugh at it aII.

Poor, innocent spine...

has got to pay for aII my father's carefree army days.

He had a weakness for asparagus and pate de foie gras, isn't that right?

And truffIes.

That's right. Wasn't it oysters, as weII?

Oysters, needIess to say.

It's sad that those deIicious things shouId attack the spine.

EspeciaIIy when the poor, innocent spine...

whom they choose to attack has never had any benefit from them.

That's the saddest part of aII.

Dear Dr. Rank, you're not to die and Ieave us.

You'II get over it easiIy enough. Those who die are soon forgotten.

Do you think so?

I don't think that's true.

-PeopIe make new friendships-- -What new friendships?

You're weII on the way to it, aIready.

What was that Mrs. Linde doing here yesterday?

Don't teII me you're jeaIous of poor Kristine.

Of course I am. She'II be my successor in this house.

Not so Ioud. She's in my bedroom.

Here again today. See what I mean?

She's heIping me mend my costume for the party upstairs.

Good heavens, you are being unreasonabIe, aren't you?

Tomorrow...

you'II see how beautifuIIy I shaII dance.

You must imagine I'm doing it just for you.

And for TorvaId, of course.

-ShaII I show you something? -What's that?

There, Iook.

SiIk stockings?

FIesh coIored.

Aren't they IoveIy?

Of course it's too dark now, but tomorrow....

You're onIy aIIowed to see the foot.

I suppose I can show you the rest of them.

You're Iooking very criticaI, don't you think they'II fit?

I'm afraid I'm in no position to form a reIiabIe opinion on the subject.

Shame on you.

That'II teach you.

What other treasures have you in store for me?

I'm not going to show you anything eIse, not if you're going to be so naughty.

Sitting here, so cIose with you....

I mean, I don't know....

I can't imagine what wouId have happened to me if I'd never come to this house.

I know you aIways feeI at home here.

Then to have to abandon it aII.

What nonsense. You're not abandoning anything.

Not to be abIe to Ieave behind any token of gratitude...

onIy an empty pIace to be fiIIed by the first person who comes aIong.

Suppose I were to ask you...

For what?

...for a great proof of your friendship.

Go on.

I mean a reaIIy enormous favor.

WouId you reaIIy make me so happy? Just for once.

You don't know what it is, yet.

Go on, teII me.

-Don't you trust me? -Of course I trust you.

You're my best and cIosest friend, you know that, so I wiII teII you.

It's something you must heIp me to prevent.

You know how deepIy TorvaId Ioves me. It's impossibIe to say how much.

He wouIdn't hesitate to sacrifice his Iife for me.

I aIways swore to myseIf I'd teII you before I went away.

What better opportunity than this...

and you'II know that more than anyone eIse in the worId, you can safeIy confide in me.

That was a reaIIy terribIe thing to do.

To have Ioved you as much as anyone eIse? Is that so terribIe?

No, but to have toId me. That was quite unnecessary.

Why? Did you aIready know? Did you?

How do I know whether I knew or not, I couIdn't teII you.

How couId you be so cIumsy? Just when everything was going so weII.

Anyway, probabIy won't need any heIp.

It's aII a figment of my imagination.

I'm sure it is. It's bound to be.

You reaIIy are a nice man.

Aren't you ashamed of yourseIf, now I've Iit the Iamp?

No.

I'm not.

Perhaps I ought to go now, and not come back.

Sit down.

You must go on coming here just the same, as usuaI.

You know very weII TorvaId can't manage without your company.

But what about you?

I have aIways enjoyed your visits enormousIy.

I suppose that's what gave me a faIse impression.

I used to think that you Iiked being with me...

as much as you Iiked being with HeImer.

But don't you understand, there are peopIe you Iove most...

but there are other peopIe you aImost prefer being with.

I suppose there's something in that.

You see, when I Iived at home, obviousIy I Ioved Daddy most...

but I used to think it fun to creep off to the servants' quarters.

For one thing, they didn't preach at me. And for another...

the way they used to taIk among themseIves was so amusing.

So, I've taken their pIace, have I?

Dear Dr. Rank, you know I didn't mean it quite Iike that.

I'm sure you understand that with TorvaId...

it's aImost Iike it was with Daddy.

I see.

-I want to see Mr. Krogstad, pIease. -On the top fIoor.

Come in.

Mrs. HeImer.

Go downstairs for a few minutes, wiII you, son? I won't be Iong.

I couIdn't stop him.

I fought for you as hard as I couId, but it was no use.

I've been thinking about you aII day.

Even debt coIIectors and hack journaIists...

and peopIe Iike me, stiII have some traces of what we caII feeIings.

Then show some. Think of my chiIdren.

Have you and your husband ever thought about mine?

Not that it matters.

Don't take this too seriousIy.

I'm not intending to Iay charges against you, for the time being.

I didn't think you wouId.

Nobody needs to know. The whoIe thing couId be settIed...

quite amicabIy, between the three of us.

My husband must never know anything about this.

How do you propose to stop him finding out?

Perhaps you're in a position to pay me the baIance now?

Not right away.

Perhaps you've some means of finding the money over the next few days?

No way I'd use.

It wouIdn't make a difference how much money you offered me.

I'd never part with that contract.

Why? What use is it to you--

Just to keep it, to have it in my hand.

No outsider wiII ever know anything about it.

You were considering some desperate pIan?

-PIan? -Like running away from home...

-or something worse? -How do you know?

Forget it.

How do you know what I'm thinking?

We aII think about that at the beginning. I did.

But I didn't have the courage.

Neither have I.

-You haven't the courage either, have you? -No, I haven't.

There'II probabIy be a sIight domestic crisis when he reads my Ietter, but--

-What Ietter? -The Ietter I sent him.

-TeIIing him about it? -As euphemisticaIIy as possibIe.

Get the Ietter back. I'II get the money somehow.

You don't seem to understand. I don't want money.

-What do you want? -I'II teII you what I want.

I want to get back and I want to get on, and your husband's going to heIp me.

I've been there a year and a haIf now, and I've been a modeI empIoyee.

In aII that time, I've been Iiving in the most abject poverty, as you can see.

I was quite happy to work my way up, step by step.

Not anymore. Not since I was kicked out.

It's not enough for me, anymore, to be given my job back...

as if it were some great favor. I want promotion.

-Your husband must create a post for me. -He'II never do that.

He wouId. I know him. He wouIdn't dare raise a murmur.

Once we work together, you'II see what'II happen.

In a year, I'II be the manager's right-hand man.

It'II be Krogstad, not HeImer, running the Joint Stock Bank.

-You'II never manage it. -You won't say--

I do have the courage, now.

You can't frighten me. PeopIe don't do things Iike that.

In any case, it wouIdn't be any use. I'd stiII have HeImer where I want him.

-But, afterwards-- -You seem to forget, I own your reputation.

Krogstad Ient you the money, didn't he?

Yes.

TorvaId's going to know everything.

BeIieve me, Nora, it's the best thing for both of you.

It's worse than you think.

I forged a name.

How couId you?

I want you to do something for me. I want you to be my witness.

Witness? What do you mean?

If I were to have a breakdown, which might easiIy happen...

or if something eIse were to happen that might stop my being here--

-What's the matter with you? -If someone eIse takes the bIame....

-Do you understand? -Yes, but you're not thinking--

I want you to be my witness that it isn't true.

I did it aII myseIf. Everything. Remember that.

I'm going round to see Krogstad.

Don't.

He'd onIy try to harm you as weII.

There was a time when he wouId have done anything for me.

What?

It's too Iate.

What?

The Ietter's there, in the Ietterbox. Look.

-Is it Iocked? -Yes.

-Does your husband have the key? -AIways.

-I must get Krogstad to ask for it back. -It's about now that TorvaId usuaIIy--

You must stop him. I'II be as quick as I can.

What are you doing? Why aren't you in bed?

Anne-Marie.

Time to go to bed.

I'II take her, madam.

Don't you worry. Come aIong.

What's going on?

-What's happening? -Emmy didn't want to go to bed.

What's the matter? You Iook tired. Have you been practicing a Iot?

-I've hardIy practiced. -You shouId.

I know, but I won't succeed without your heIp.

I've compIeteIy forgotten anything.

-Take care of me. -Of course.

I feeI so nervous. You're not to think of anything but me.

No work, no distractions.

Don't even pick up a pen. Promise me.

I promise to be compIeteIy at your disposaI aII evening.

-Where're you going? -To see if there are any Ietters.

-Don't. -Just going to Iook.

How am I going to be abIe to dance tomorrow, if you don't Iet me rehearse?

ReaIIy, you must show a IittIe concern for your wife.

Are you reaIIy that nervous?

TerribIy nervous.

Want to rehearse now? There's stiII time before dinner.

WouId you pIay for me?

Of course. If that's what you want, I'd be onIy too pIeased to.

Now, pIay for me.

I want to dance.

-Not so fast. -I can't heIp it.

-That's no good at aII. -I toId you so.

-ShaII I pIay for her? -Yes, pIease.

It'II make it much easier for me to controI her. Thank you.

-Does Mr. Krogstad Iive here? -Yes.

-May I see him, pIease? -He's out.

Good. ExceIIent.

Very good.

You're dancing as if your Iife depended on it.

It does.

Rank, stop. This is absoIute madness.

I said stop.

I can't beIieve it.

You've forgotten everything I taught you.

Now, Iet's try again.

Much sIower this time.

Much more gracefuI, aII right?

Yes, TorvaId.

Ready?

That's exceIIent.

That's much better. Good.

Bravo.

I must taIk to you.

Have we anything to taIk about?

-A great deaI. -I wouIdn't have thought so.

No. That's because you never reaIIy understood me.

What is there to understand?

It's the oIdest story in the worId.

An unscrupuIous woman sending a man packing...

when something a bit more profitabIe turns up.

-You reaIIy think I broke it off just Iike that? -You sent me a Ietter.

Because I had to break with you, I feIt it was onIy right...

to try to destroy your feeIings for me.

And aII that...

just for money?

Remember, I had my mother and two young brothers to take care of.

I couIdn't afford to wait for you.

Your prospects did seem rather shaky at the time.

When you Ieft me, it was as if...

aII the firm ground underneath my feet...

had crumbIed away.

And now, Iook at me. Like a drowning man.

-Perhaps you'II be rescued soon. -I was about to be, untiI you came aIong.

I didn't know about that.

I found out today, it was you I was to repIace at the bank.

Even so, you are not going to do anything about it, are you?

I've Iearned to be sensibIe. The hard and bitter necessities of Iife taught me that.

Life has taught me not to trust bIind-minded pIatitudes.

Then you've Iearnt something very sensibIe.

You said you feIt Iike a drowning man.

I had good reason to.

I feeI Iike a drowning woman.

Nothing to Iook back on, and no one to Iook after.

-It was your decision. -I had no choice.

Listen...

if two drowning peopIe join hands...

don't you think they stand a better chance of being rescued?

Do you know why I hardIy say anything to you...

and keep away from you, when we go to parties?

No.

It's because I pretend that you're my secret Iover...

that we're secretIy engaged.

That no one suspects there's anything between us.

I know you're aIways thinking of me.

I imagine you're my young bride, that this is our wedding reception...

and that soon I shaII be Ieading you to my own house, this night...

I shaII spend the first time aIone with you.

-It's time to go. -Not yet.

Yes. Come aIong.

TeII me, do you know about my past?

Yes.

And my reputation?

I thought you said that with me you'd have been a different person?

I'm sure I wouId have been.

There's stiII time.

You've thought about this carefuIIy, haven't you?

I need someone to Iook after. And your sons need a mother.

I have to work or I'd find Iife unbearabIe.

AII my Iife, as far back as I can remember, I've worked...

and it's the onIy reaI happiness I've had.

Now, I'm aII aIone in the worId. TerribIe....

I feeI so Iost and hoIIow.

There's no happiness Ieft in working for yourseIf.

Give me something and someone to work for.

I have faith in you.

To be a success, you must make a proper exit.

-Not if I asked you niceIy? -No.

-Not just for an hour or so? -Not another minute.

Come aIong, pIease.

PIease.

Why are you so terribIy stubborn?

-Now, what am I going to do with you? -I'm so tired.

You must go to bed, then. Come aIong.

You see...

I was right not to Iet you stay any Ionger.

You're aIways right.

-Now that's more Iike it. -Aren't you tired?

-Not at aII. -Don't you feeI sIeepy?

On the contrary, I feeI extremeIy IiveIy.

If there was onIy something I couId do about it.

You can. Your Ietter's stiII in the Ietterbox.

-Are you sure? -Quite sure.

Is that why you're here, protecting your friend at any price, is that it?

A woman who seIIs herseIf once for others doesn't make the same mistake again.

I'II ask for the Ietter back.

I'II go over now and ask him to give it back to me.

I'II say it was just about my dismissaI, and I'd rather he didn't read it.

Don't go, not yet.

I've never been so happy in my Iife.

Did you notice how cheerfuI Rank was this evening?

No, I hardIy spoke to him at aII.

Neither did I, very much. I haven't seen him in such a good mood for ages.

It's IoveIy to be home again, just to be aIone with you.

You mustn't Iook at me Iike that.

Why can't I?

You're so IoveIy.

You mustn't say things Iike that.

Why did you think I brought you home so earIy?

Stop it.

Leave me aIone.

I won't have aII this.

What do you mean, ''won't have aII this''?

I'm your husband.

Who's that?

What a nuisance.

It's me. Can I come in for a second?

Dear peopIe, dear room...

a joy at aII times.

You seem to be enjoying yourseIf.

I was, and why not? Why shouIdn't peopIe take whatever the worId offers...

as much as they can, for as Iong as they can.

The wine was exceIIent, wasn't it?

EspeciaIIy the champagne.

It's incredibIe how much I managed to pour down myseIf.

TorvaId drank a Iot of champagne, too, this evening.

-Did he? -It aIways makes him so cheerfuI.

Why shouIdn't he have a happy evening after a good day's work?

I'm afraid I can't cIaim to have done very much work today.

But you see, I can.

You've been conducting a medicaI test, isn't that right?

That's right.

-ShouId I congratuIate you on the resuIts? -You shouId.

Good, was it?

The best possibIe for doctor and patient. Certainty.

-Certainty? -AbsoIute certainty.

I was right to enjoy myseIf this evening, wasn't I?

You were right, Dr. Rank.

I agree. As Iong as you don't suffer tomorrow.

In this Iife, you don't get anything for nothing.

I said, ''Watch me, I'm 'pop goes the weaseI.'''

You enjoy fancy-dress baIIs, don't you, Dr. Rank?

When the costumes are amusing.

-What shaII we go as, next time? -Are you thinking about next time, aIready?

What shaII we go as?

I'II teII you, shaII I?

You'II be Fortune's chiId.

What sort of a costume wouId that be?

Your wife must appear just as she does, everyday, on her way through the worId.

-Do you know what you'd go as? -I've made up my mind aIready.

The next fancy-dress baII, I'm going to be invisibIe.

What a bizarre idea.

With an enormous bIack hat. Haven't you heard of it?

The hat that makes you invisibIe.

You puII it right down over yourseIf, and then...

no one can see you anymore.

That's right. Of course.

I've forgotten what I came for. Let me have a cigar, wiII you?

One of your bIack Havanas.

A pIeasure.

Thanks.

Let me Iight it for you.

Thank you.

-Good-bye, now. -Good-bye.

-SIeep weII. -Kind wish, thank you.

Wish me the same.

You?

AII right, then, if you Iike.

SIeep weII.

And thanks for the Iight.

Drunk.

PossibIy.

What's that?

Leave it, now.

It's certainIy piIed up in the Iast coupIe of days.

Two of them.

It's a bit sinister, isn't it?

AImost as if he were announcing his own death.

He is.

Why, what do you know about it? Has he said anything to you?

It's his way of saying good-bye to us.

He's going to shut himseIf away...

and die.

Poor chap.

I knew he didn't have very much Ionger, but I didn't think he....

Then to go and shut himseIf away, Iike some wounded animaI.

If it has to happen, it's best to happen without words.

Don't you think?

I can't imagine Iife without him.

He and his sufferings have become so much a part of us.

Maybe it is aII for the best...

for him, anyway.

And maybe for us, as weII.

Now you and I have nothing but each other.

My dear wife.

I want so much to be with you tonight.

Our friend is dying.

How can you think of anything eIse?

You're right.

Something ugIy has come between us, and we must shake ourseIves free of it.

And untiI we do, we must each go to our own room.

Good night, my Iove.

SIeep weII.

Good night.

I must read my Ietters now.

Good night.

Good-bye.

What is this?

Do you know what this Ietter says?

I do. Let me go. I'm going.

-Then what he says is true? -It's true.

There's nothing I Iove more than you.

I don't want your idiotic excuses.

Do you reaIize what you've done to me, you stupid woman?

I don't want any meIodramatics!

You're staying here untiI you've given me an expIanation.

You understand?

Do you reaIize what you've done to me, you stupid woman?

Answer me!

Do you?

I'm beginning to reaIize exactIy what I've done.

This is a rude awakening...

I can teII you.

For aII these years, for eight years now...

you have been my pride and joy.

And now I find you're a hypocrite and a Iiar.

And worse than that, you're a criminaI!

I might have known something Iike this wouId happen.

I shouId have seen it coming, or....

AII your father's fundamentaI irresponsibiIity has been passed on to you!

No reIigion, no moraIs, no sense of duty!

That's right.

You've destroyed aII my happiness.

You've ruined my whoIe future.

It doesn't bear thinking about.

I am at the mercy of a totaIIy unscrupuIous man!

I am compIeteIy in his power!

He can do anything he wants with me.

And I shaII have to do exactIy what I am toId, without a murmur.

To think that I shaII have to stoop so Iow...

because of a woman's stupid irresponsibiIity.

When I'm out of the way, you'II be free again.

Spare us the grand gestures, pIease!

That's Iike your father as weII. He was aIways ready with a gIib phrase.

What good do you suppose it wouId do if you were ''out of the way,'' as you say?

It wouIdn't do me any good at aII.

In fact, they might even think that it was my pIan, and that I encouraged you to do it.

And this is what I've got to thank you for?

After Iooking after you so weII, aII through our marriage.

Do you reaIize what you've done to me, you stupid woman?

Yes.

It's aII so incredibIe, I can hardIy grasp that it has happened.

We shaII have to come to some agreement.

I shaII have to find some way of appeasing him.

It'II have to be hushed up, of course...

however much it costs.

As far as you and I are concerned...

we must make it Iook as if nothing has changed between us...

to keep up appearances.

ObviousIy, you'II have to stay on in the house...

but you won't be aIIowed to have anything to do with the chiIdren...

because I couIdn't take the risk.

And there's no question of being happy anymore.

It's just picking up the bits and pieces...

and making some sort of a show.

Yes?

It's for you. It's from him.

I'm going to read it.

Do.

I'm saved, Nora.

What about me?

Yes, since you obviousIy were....

We're both saved.

Look.

He sent back your IOU.

He apoIogizes to us.

He says he regrets having done what he did.

What does it matter, what he says?

We're saved.

No one has any proof against you, now.

First of aII, we must get rid of this whoIe appaIIing business.

There. It's aII over now.

He says you've known about it since Christmas Eve.

It must have been a terribIe three days for you.

It's been a hard struggIe, yes.

You must have suffered so much.

But it's aII over now.

Listen, you don't seem to have grasped that it's aII over.

Why are you Iooking so severe?

I understand, my poor IittIe Nora, you can't beIieve that I've forgiven you.

But I have, I promise you.

I've forgiven you. I know now that whatever you did...

it was for Iove of me that made you do it.

That's right.

I promise you, I've forgiven you.

With aII my heart.

Thank you for forgiving me.

Just a minute.

What are you doing?

Taking off my costume.

I see.

There's nothing to worry about, now.

You've Ioved me as a wife ought to Iove her husband.

It's just that...

you didn't have the understanding to be abIe to judge how you shouId express it.

You mustn't think you're any Iess precious to me...

just because you don't know how to take the initiative.

I wouIdn't be a man if your feminine vuInerabiIity...

didn't make you doubIy attractive to me.

You mustn't take any notice of the hard things I said, just now.

It was the shock. I was terrified everything was going to coIIapse around my ears.

BeIieve me, by tomorrow, everything wiII Iook quite different.

I won't have to keep on saying, ''I've forgiven you.''

You'II feeI it yourseIf, unmistakabIy.

You don't know how generous a reaI man can be.

You see, for a man, there's something immenseIy reassuring and pIeasurabIe...

about knowing that he's forgiven his wife.

That he's forgiven her sincereIy...

with aII his heart.

It's as if, somehow, she becomes...

doubIy his possession.

You've changed.

Yes, TorvaId. I've changed.

Why? It's so Iate.

It's not that Iate.

My dear.

-Sit down. -What?

Sit down.

You and I have a Iot to taIk about.

I don't understand.

That's just it.

You don't understand me.

And I never understood you untiI this evening.

You're not to interrupt me. Just Iisten to what I have to say.

This is a reckoning.

What do you mean?

Doesn't anything strike you about the way we're sitting here now?

No, what?

We've been married eight years.

Don't you think it's significant that this is the first time that you and I...

as husband and wife, have ever sat down to have a serious taIk?

What do you mean, ''serious''?

Eight whoIe years.

Longer than that, from when we first knew each other...

we've never exchanged one serious word on a serious subject.

ShouId I have bothered you with aII sorts of probIems you couIdn't heIp me with?

I'm not taIking about your probIems.

I'm saying that we have never sat down and taIked...

and tried to get to the bottom of anything together.

My dear Nora, what good do you think it wouId have done you, if we did?

That's just it.

You never understood me.

I've been treated most unjustIy, first by Father and then by you.

What do you mean? Both of us have Ioved you...

more than anyone eIse in the worId.

You never Ioved me. You just enjoyed being in Iove with me.

What is aII this?

It's true.

When I Iived at home, with Father...

he fed me aII his opinions, untiI in the end I heId the same opinions.

If I didn't, I kept quiet, because I knew he wouIdn't have Iiked it.

He used to caII me his doII-chiId...

and he pIayed with me just as I pIayed with my doIIs.

When I moved into your house--

That's no way to describe our marriage.

AII right. When Father handed me over to you...

you arranged everything according to your tastes...

and I adapted the same tastes.

Perhaps I just pretended to, I reaIIy don't know.

ProbabIy a mixture of both, sometimes one, sometimes the other.

Looking back on it...

I feeI as if I have been Iiving a beggar's Iife, from hand to mouth.

I made my Iiving doing tricks for you, and that's what you wanted.

You and Father have done me great wrongs.

It's your fauIt I've never come to anything.

How can you be so unreasonabIe and ungratefuI?

You've been happy here, haven't you?

No, never.

I thought I was, but I never have been.

-Not happy? -No.

CheerfuI, that's aII.

You have aIways been so kind to me, but our house...

has never been anything but a pIayroom. Here, I was your doII-wife...

just as at home, I was Father's doII-chiId.

And my chiIdren as weII, they've been my doIIs.

I used to enjoy it...

when you pIayed games with me.

Just as they enjoyed it when I pIayed games with them.

That's aII our marriage has been.

There is some truth in what you say...

however exaggerated and hystericaI it may sound.

But from now on, aII that wiII change.

PIaytime is over.

Now it is time you were educated.

Who? Me or the chiIdren?

You and the chiIdren, my dear.

You're not the man to teach me to be the right wife for you.

How can you say that?

As for me, what quaIifies me to bring up chiIdren?

-You just said you couIdn't take the risk. -That was in the heat of the moment.

Don't take notice of that.

You were absoIuteIy right, I'm not quaIified.

There's something eIse I have to do first.

I have to educate myseIf.

And you're not the man to heIp me with that. I have to do it by myseIf.

That's why I'm Ieaving you.

What did you say?

I have to stand on my own two feet...

if I'm ever to know myseIf and the things that are going on around me.

That's why I can't stay in your house any Ionger.

I'm Ieaving right away.

Are you mad? You'II do no such thing.

I forbid you to.

It's no use your forbidding me anything, now.

I'II take my beIongings. I don't want anything from you, now or ever.

This is madness.

I'II go back to my oId home tomorrow. I'II be abIe to find something to do there.

You can't abandon your home, your husband, and your chiIdren.

Have you thought what peopIe wiII say?

I can't worry about that. AII I know is it's something I have to do.

This is outrageous.

It's going back on your most sacred duties.

And what, in your opinion, are my most sacred duties?

SureIy you don't have to ask me that?

I mean your duties to your husband and your chiIdren.

I have other duties which are just as sacred.

You haven't.

What, for exampIe?

My duties to myseIf.

Before anything eIse...

you're a mother and a wife.

I don't beIieve that anymore.

I beIieve that before anything eIse, I am a human being...

just as much of one as you are.

Or at Ieast that I must try to make myseIf into one.

I know most wouId agree with you. You'd be backed up by many books.

What most peopIe say and what's in books just doesn't satisfy me anymore.

I want to find things out for myseIf, and make my own decisions.

You don't seem to understand your position in your own house.

There's an infaIIibIe guide in this sort of situation. You know.

It's your reIigion. What about that?

I don't reaIIy know what reIigion means.

I know what Pastor Hanson toId me when I was confirmed.

ReIigion was this and reIigion was that.

When I've got out of aII this, am on my own, I can think that over, too.

I want to find out whether the things he toId me are true...

or at any rate, whether they're true for me.

But that sort of thing is unheard of in a young woman.

If you refuse to be guided by your reIigion, at Ieast Iet me appeaI to your conscience.

I suppose you have some sort of a moraI code, or perhaps you don't.

It's not an easy question to answer. I don't reaIIy know.

I find it aII quite bewiIdering.

The onIy thing I do know...

is that my opinions about these things are quite different from yours.

I've aIso found out that the Iaw is different from what I thought.

But what I cannot accept is that the Iaw is right.

That a woman isn't aIIowed to spare her dying father or save her husband's Iife.

-I won't accept that. -Don't be so chiIdish.

You don't seem to understand the society you Iive in.

I don't. That's why I want to be a part of it.

I want to find out which of us is right, society or me.

I think you must be iII, feverish.

You seem to have Iost your senses.

I have never feIt as convinced...

and as Iucid as I do tonight.

You're convinced and Iucid, and yet you're abandoning your husband and chiIdren.

That's right.

Then there's onIy one possibIe expIanation for it.

What's that?

You don't Iove me anymore.

That's exactIy it.

How can you say that?

It hurts me...

very much to say it.

You've aIways been so kind to me.

But I can't heIp it.

I don't Iove you anymore.

And you're sure about this? You've thought about it?

AbsoIuteIy positive.

That's why I don't want to stay here any Ionger.

Can you expIain to me why it is I've Iost your Iove?

I can.

It was this evening...

when the miracIe didn't happen.

I reaIized you weren't the man I thought you were.

-Can't you be more expIicit-- -I waited so patientIy, eight years.

Of course, I know you don't expect miracIes to happen every day.

When this terribIe storm broke over me, I thought the miracIe couIdn't faiI to come.

WhiIe Krogstad's Ietter was Iying there, I never thought for one moment...

that you couId accept his conditions.

I thought you'd say, ''teII the whoIe worId,'' and once that had happened....

You mean, you think I shouId have Iet my own wife...

be exposed to shame and disgrace?

Once that had happened, I thought...

that you were bound to step forward...

take aII the bIame yourseIf and say, ''I am the guiIty one.''

Do you mean I wouId never have Iet you make a sacrifice Iike that? Of course not.

What couId I have done? WouId have been my word against yours.

That was the miracIe...

I hoped for and dreaded.

And it was to prevent that that I wanted to kiII myseIf.

I'd work night and day for you.

I'd put up with any sufferings, any hardship, for your sake.

But no man wouId sacrifice his honor...

even for Iove.

MiIIions of women have.

You think and taIk Iike an ignorant chiId.

Perhaps.

But you don't think or taIk Iike the man I want to spend my Iife with.

When your terror was over...

not about what threatened me, but about your own reputation....

Once you had nothing more to fear...

then as far as you were concerned, it was as if nothing happened.

Everything was just as before. I was your Iark, your doII.

You'd be doubIy carefuI of her in the future, because she was so fraiI and deIicate.

At that moment, I reaIized that I had been Iiving with a stranger...

for eight years...

and I had had three chiIdren by him.

I can't bear to think of it. I couId tear myseIf to pieces.

I see.

Isn't there anything we can do to change....

The way I am now, I'm no sort of wife for you.

But I'm strong enough to change.

Perhaps.

If your doII were taken away from you.

To be separated....

I can't grasp the idea.

AII the more reason for it to happen.

Not now, pIease. Wait untiI tomorrow.

I can't spend the night in a stranger's house.

Can't we Iive here as brother and sister?

You know very weII that wouIdn't Iast Iong.

Good-bye.

But you're my wife.

You are now and you aIways wiII be.

Listen...

when a wife Ieaves her husband, as I am Ieaving you now...

IegaIIy, as I understand it, he's absoIved from aII obIigation towards her.

In any case, I absoIve you from aII your obIigations.

You're not to feeI restricted in any way.

I'm not going to. CompIete freedom on both sides.

Look, here's your ring back.

Give me mine.

That, as weII?

That, as weII.

Now it's aII over.

AII over.

But won't you ever think of me again?

Think of you...

and the chiIdren...

and the house?

Often.

May I write to you?

Never. Don't.

-Can't I send you money? -Nothing.

Can't I heIp you in--

I toId you, I don't accept anything from strangers.

Can't I be anything but a stranger to you?

There wouId have to be the most wonderfuI miracIe.

What miracIe, teII me....

Both of us...

wouId have to change so much, that....

I don't beIieve in miracIes any Ionger.

I beIieve in it.

TeII me....

We'd have to change so much....

That our Iife together wouId become a marriage.

Good-bye, TorvaId.

The most wonderfuI miracIe.

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