A Doll's House recap

Nora Helmer seems happily dependent on her husband, Torvald, but she secretly borrowed money to finance the trip that saved his health and obtained it by signing her father's name. When Torvald plans to dismiss the lender, bank clerk Nils Krogstad, Krogstad threatens to expose her. Nora tries to delay discovery while her widowed friend Kristine Linde reconnects with Krogstad. Kristine decides the truth must emerge and leaves his letter for Torvald to read. Torvald reacts not with the self-sacrifice Nora imagined but with anger about his reputation; when the incriminating bond is returned, he abruptly forgives her. Nora recognizes that their marriage has denied her an adult identity. She rejects Torvald's demand that she remain, leaves her husband and children, and goes out alone to learn who she is and what she believes.

On Christmas Eve, Nora Helmer returns to the comfortable home she shares with her husband, Torvald, and their three children. Torvald's new post as bank manager promises greater security, though he still lectures Nora about spending and treats her as an indulged child. Nora tells her visiting school friend, the widowed Kristine Linde, that years earlier she secretly raised the money for a journey to Italy that restored Torvald's health. She could not borrow openly, so she signed her dying father's name and has quietly worked to repay the debt. The lender, Nils Krogstad, is a clerk at Torvald's bank. Torvald plans to replace him with Kristine and refuses Nora's request to reconsider, saying Krogstad's damaged reputation and familiar manner make him unsuitable. Krogstad recognizes an irregular date on Nora's bond and threatens to reveal the false signature unless she preserves his job. Nora's festive mood gives way to fear that the secret will ruin her family.

Nora grows increasingly frantic as the costume party approaches. She questions Anne Marie about abandoning a child to a nurse's care, fearing that Krogstad's disclosure may separate her from her own children. Doctor Rank reveals that he is dying and declares his love for Nora, preventing her from asking him for the financial help she had considered. Torvald sends Krogstad's dismissal despite Nora's pleading. Krogstad then places a letter describing the loan and false signature in Torvald's locked letterbox. Nora keeps Torvald from his mail by pretending she urgently needs him to rehearse the tarantella with her, dancing with such agitation that he agrees to postpone reading until after the party. Kristine recognizes Krogstad as someone from her past and offers to speak with him. Nora, convinced that Torvald will try to take the blame when he learns the truth, counts the remaining hours before she believes she must prevent that sacrifice at any cost.

Kristine meets Krogstad and explains that she left him only to support her dependent family. Now free and lonely, she proposes that they reunite and care for each other. Krogstad is willing to retrieve his letter, but Kristine stops him because the Helmers must face the truth. After the party, Torvald reads the letter. Rather than offering to protect Nora, he denounces her, fears public disgrace, and says she cannot be trusted with the children, though he intends to preserve the appearance of marriage. Krogstad's second message returns the incriminating bond, whereupon Torvald celebrates his safety and says he forgives Nora. Nora sees that his love depended on her remaining a decorative, obedient wife. In a calm final conversation, she describes how her father and Torvald shaped her opinions and treated her like a possession. She says she must leave to educate herself and decide her own duties and beliefs. Torvald cannot persuade her to stay. Nora gives up her household keys and ring, departs from her husband and children, and closes the door behind her.

After the dance upstairs, Torvald reads Krogstad's letter and responds to Nora's secret with panic and condemnation. He worries about his reputation, calls her unfit to raise their children, and insists that their marriage continue only for appearances. A second message returns Nora's bond, and Torvald immediately announces that the danger has passed and that he forgives her. His reversal makes clear to Nora that he has been protecting himself, not her. She changes out of her costume and speaks to him with a seriousness he has never expected. Concluding that both her father and husband have treated her as a pleasing possession, she says that she must educate herself and determine her own convictions before she can be a wife or mother. Torvald's appeals cannot change her decision. Nora returns her keys and wedding ring, leaves Torvald and the children, and shuts the outer door behind her. Kristine and Krogstad, by contrast, have chosen to reunite and build a shared life, while Doctor Rank has sent notice that his death is near.