ACTI
[SCENE.—Aroomfurnishedcomfortably
y
andtastefully,butnotextravagantly.At
la
theback,adoortola
therightleadstotheentrance-hall,otra
anothertotheleftleadstoHelmer’sstudy.Entre
Betweenthedoorsstandsapiano.Inthemiddleoftheleft-handwallis
una
adoor,andbeyondituna
awindow.Nearthewindowarearoundtable,arm-chairs
y
andasmallsofa.Intheright-handwall,atthefarther
extremo
end,anotherdoor;andonthe
mismo
sameside,nearerthefootlights,una
astove,twoeasychairsy
andarocking-chair;betweenthestove
y
andthedoor,asmalltable.Engravingson
las
thewalls;acabinetwithchina
y
andothersmallobjects;asmallbook-case
con
withwell-boundbooks.Thefloorsarecarpeted,
y
andafireburnsinthestove.Itiswinter.
Una
Abellringsinthehall;shortlyafterwards
la
thedoorisheardtoopen.EnterNORA,humming
una
atuneandinhighspirits.Sheisinoutdoordress
y
andcarriesanumberofparcels;theseshelayson
la
thetabletotheright.NORA.
Hide
el
theChristmasTreecarefully,Helen.Besure
los
thechildrendonotseeituntilesta
thisevening,whenitisdressed.[TothePORTER,takingoutherpurse.]Howmuch?
PORTER.
Sixpence.
NORA.
Hay
Thereisashilling.No,keep
el
thechange.[ThePORTERthanksher,
y
andgoesout.NORAshuts
la
thedoor.Sheislaughingtoherself,asshetakesoffherhat
y
andcoat.Shetakesapacketofmacaroonsfromherpocket
y
andeatsoneortwo;then
va
goescautiouslytoherhusband’spuerta
doorandlistens.]Yes,heisen
in.HELMER.
[callsoutfromhisroom].
Is
esa
thatmylittlelarktwitteringoutthere?NORA.
[busy
abriendo
openingsomeoftheparcels].Sí
Yes,itis!HELMER.
Isitmylittlesquirrelbustlingabout?
NORA.
Sí
Yes!HELMER.
Whendidmysquirrel
llegó
comehome?NORA.
Justnow.
[Puts
la
thebagofmacaroonsintoherpockety
andwipeshermouth.]Comeinaquí
here,Torvald,andseewhatIhe
havebought.HELMER.
Don’tdisturb
me
me.[Alittlelater,he
abre
opensthedoorandlooksintola
theroom,peninhand.]Comprado
Bought,didyousay?All
estas
thesethings?Hasmylittlespendthriftbeenwasting
dinero
moneyagain?NORA.
Yesbut,Torvald,
este
thisyearwereallycanletourselvesir
goalittle.Thisis
la
thefirstChristmasthatwehavenotneededtoeconomise.HELMER.
Still,you
sabes
know,wecan’tspendmoneyrecklessly.NORA.
Sí
Yes,Torvald,wemaybeun
aweebitmorerecklessahora
now,mayn’twe?Justatinyweebit!
Youare
vas
goingtohaveabigsalaryy
andearnlotsandlotsofdinero
money.HELMER.
Yes,afterthe
Nuevo
NewYear;butthenit
sea
willbeawholequarterbeforeel
thesalaryisdue.NORA.
Pooh!
we
podemos
canborrowuntilthen.HELMER.
Nora!
[Goesuptoher
y
andtakesherplayfullybyla
theear.]Thesamelittlefeatherhead!Suppose,
ahora
now,thatIborrowedfiftypoundshoy
today,andyouspentittodo
allintheChristmasweek,y
andthenonNewYear’sEveuna
aslatefellonmycabeza
headandkilledme,and—.NORA.
[puttingherhands
sobre
overhismouth].Oh!
don’t
digas
saysuchhorridthings.HELMER.
Still,suppose
eso
thathappened,—whatthen?NORA.
If
eso
thatweretohappen,Idon’tsupposeIdebía
shouldcarewhetherIoweddinero
moneyornot.HELMER.
Yes,
pero
butwhataboutthepeoplewhohabían
hadlentit?NORA.
They?
Quién
Whowouldbotheraboutthem?I
debería
shouldnotknowwhotheywere.HELMER.
Eso
Thatislikeawoman!Pero
Butseriously,Nora,youknowwhatIpienso
thinkaboutthat.Nodebt,
no
noborrowing.Therecanbe
no
nofreedomorbeautyaboutuna
ahomelifethatdependsonborrowingy
anddebt.Wetwohavekeptbravelyon
el
thestraightroadsofar,y
andwewillgoonel
thesamewayfortheshorttiempo
timelongerthatthereneedbealguna
anystruggle.NORA.
[movingtowards
la
thestove].Asyouplease,Torvald.
HELMER.
[followingher].
Ven
Come,come,mylittleskylarkdebe
mustnotdroopherwings.Whatis
esto
this!Ismylittlesquirrel
fuera
outoftemper?[Takingouthispurse.]Nora,whatdoyou
crees
thinkIhavegothere?NORA.
[turningroundquickly].
Dinero
Money!HELMER.
Thereyouare.
[Giveshersomemoney.]Doyou
crees
thinkIdon’tknowwhatalotisquiere
wantedforhousekeepingatChristmas-time?NORA.
[counting].
Diez
Tenshillings—apound—twopounds!Thankyou,
gracias
thankyou,Torvald;thatwill
mantendrá
keepmegoingforalongtime.HELMER.
Indeedit
debe
must.NORA.
Yes,yes,itwill.
Pero
ButcomehereandletmeshowyouwhatIhe
havebought.Andallsocheap!
Mira
Look,hereisanewsuitforIvar,y
andasword;andahorse
y
andatrumpetforBob;y
andadollanddolly’sbedsteadforEmmy,—theyaremuy
veryplain,butanywaysheson
willsoonbreaktheminpieces.Y
Andherearedress-lengthsandhandkerchiefsforlas
themaids;oldAnneoughtreallyto
tener
havesomethingbetter.HELMER.
Andwhatisin
este
thisparcel?NORA.
[cryingout].
No
No,no!youmustn’tsee
eso
thatuntilthisevening.HELMER.
Muy
Verywell.Butnowtellme,youextravagantlittle
persona
person,whatwouldyoulikeforyourself?NORA.
Formyself?
Oh,Iam
seguro
sureIdon’twantanything.HELMER.
Sí
Yes,butyoumust.Tellme
algo
somethingreasonablethatyouwouldparticularlygustaría
liketohave.NORA.
No,I
realmente
reallycan’tthinkofanything—unless,Torvald—.HELMER.
Well?
NORA.
[playing
con
withhiscoatbuttons,andsin
withoutraisinghereyestohis].Si
Ifyoureallywanttogivemealgo
something,youmight—youmight—.HELMER.
Well,
fuera
outwithit!NORA.
[speakingquickly].
You
podrías
mightgivememoney,Torvald.Onlyjustasmuchasyou
puedas
canafford;andthenoneof
estos
thesedaysIwillbuyalgo
somethingwithit.HELMER.
But,Nora—.
NORA.
Oh,
hago
do!dearTorvald;
please,pleasedo!
ThenIwillwrapitupin
hermoso
beautifulgiltpaperandhangitonel
theChristmasTree.Wouldn’tthatbe
divertido
fun?HELMER.
Whatarelittle
gente
peoplecalledthatarealwayswastingdinero
money?NORA.
Spendthrifts—Iknow.
Letus
hagamos
doasyousuggest,Torvald,y
andthenIshallhavetiempo
timetothinkwhatIammás
mostinwantof.Thatis
un
averysensibleplan,isn’tit?HELMER.
[smiling].
Indeeditis—thatisto
decir
say,ifyouwerereallytoahorraras
saveoutofthemoneyIdoy
giveyou,andthenreallycompraras
buysomethingforyourself.But
si
ifyouspenditallonla
thehousekeepingandanynumberofunnecessarythings,thenImerelytengo
havetopayupagain.NORA.
Oh
pero
but,Torvald—.HELMER.
Youcan’tdenyit,mydearlittleNora.
[Putshisarmroundherwaist.]It’s
un
asweetlittlespendthrift,butsheusesupun
adealofmoney.One
son
wouldhardlybelievehowexpensivesuchlittlepersonas
personsare!NORA.
It’sashameto
decir
saythat.Idoreally
guardo
saveallIcan.HELMER.
[laughing].
That’s
muy
verytrue,—allyoucan.Butyoucan’t
salvar
saveanything!NORA.
[smilingquietly
y
andhappily].Youhaven’tany
idea
ideahowmanyexpensesweskylarksy
andsquirrelshave,Torvald.HELMER.
Youare
un
anoddlittlesoul.Verylikeyour
padre
father.Youalwaysfindsomenew
manera
wayofwheedlingmoneyoutofme,y
and,assoonasyoutienes
havegotit,itseemstomeltinyourhands.You
nunca
neverknowwhereithasido
gone.Still,onemusttakeyouasyou
eres
are.Itisinthe
sangre
blood;forindeeditis
cierto
truethatyoucaninheritestas
thesethings,Nora.NORA.
Ah,I
ojalá
wishIhadinheritedmanyofpapa’squalities.HELMER.
Y
AndIwouldnotwishyoutobeanythingbutjustwhatyouare,mydulce
sweetlittleskylark.But,doyou
sabes
know,itstrikesmethatyouarelookingrather—whatshallIsay—ratheruneasyhoy
today?NORA.