Nora.
No, no, no; don’t let them come to me! Keep them with you, Anna.
Anna.
Very well, ma’am.
[Shuts the door.
Nora.
[Pale with terror.] Corrupt my children!—Poison my home! [Short pause. She throws back her head.] It’s not true! It can never, never be true!
ACT SECOND
The same room. In the corner, beside the piano, stands the Christmas-tree, stripped, and with the candles burnt out. Nora’s outdoor things lie on the sofa.
Nora, alone, is walking about restlessly. At last she stops by the sofa, and takes up her cloak.