stage of tragedy Krogstad s Threat Krogstad enters He works at the Bank Torvald plans to dismiss him Krogstad knows Nora s crime He warns her He says he will write to Torvald Nora is afraid The Christmas tree is shining but danger hides behind it Suspense rises Tragedy begins when a small loan becomes a weapon of fear Nora s family happiness is now in danger Fear and the Letter-Box In Act II the Christmas tree is stripped Its candles are burnt It looks dead Nora fears the letter-box Dr Rank enters He says he will die soon He confesses love for Nora She is shocked She cannot ask for help Krogstad drops a letter into the box Ibsen says A letter drops into the box Nora cries Torvald Torvald there is no hope for us now The letter-box becomes a symbol of tragedy Mrs Linde s Plan and Torvald s Hypocrisy Mrs Linde decides to help She tells Nora There was a time when he would gladly do anything for my sake She meets Krogstad She asks him to take back the letter But she also says the truth must come out Meanwhile Nora dances the tarantella She begs Torvald You must give yourself up to me entirely this evening In Act III Torvald reads the letter He cries You have destroyed all my happiness He calls Nora dishonest and unfit for children Nora hoped for a miracle but sees only his selfishness She says You have never loved me You have only thought it pleasant to be in love with me This is the peak of modern tragedy Nora s Choice and Modern Tragedy Nora s choice makes A Doll s House a modern tragedy Classical tragedy ends in death but modern tragedy ends in painful choice After Torvald reads Krogstad s letter he blames Nora She sees his hypocrisy When Krogstad returns the bond Torvald forgives her but she knows their marriage is false Nora leaves her husband and children She slams the door The sound of the door is the symbol of freedom Torvald loses his wife the children lose their mother and Nora loses her family This emotional death is the true mark of modern tragedy A Doll s House is a modern tragedy It shows pain in ordinary life It begins with small lies in Act I grows with the letter-box in Act II and ends with a collapse in Act III Nora s loan Krogstad s threat Torvald s hypocrisy and the final door slam create tragedy Ibsen shows that even a middle-class home can break like a tragic palace