A Doll's House, Act I summary

What happens

1. Nora returns with Christmas purchases, hides her macaroons, and receives money from Helmer, who firmly rejects borrowing.
2. Mrs Linde visits after years apart and explains her widowhood, exhausting work, and search for employment.
3. Nora offers to seek Helmer’s help and describes the Italian trip that restores his health.
4. Challenged about her lack of experience, Nora reveals that she secretly finances the trip and makes repayments through savings and copying work.
5. Krogstad arrives on bank business, and both women react uneasily before he enters Helmer’s study.
6. Doctor Rank joins the women, condemns Krogstad’s character, and disputes Mrs Linde’s defense of caring for troubled people.

In this act

What to notice

Nora claims an important role that her husband does not recognize. Her explanation replaces the image of careless spending with a record of secret effort and sacrifice.

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