stool near her, and rests her arms on her knees_.) You mustn't be angry
with me. Tell me, is it really true that you did not love your husband?
Why did you marry him?

_Mrs. Linde_. My mother was alive then, and was bedridden and helpless,
and I had to provide for my two younger brothers; so I did not think I
was justified in refusing his offer.

_Nora_. No, perhaps you were quite right. He was rich at that time,
then?

_Mrs. Linde_. I believe he was quite well off. But his business was a
precarious one; and, when he died, it all went to pieces and there was
nothing left.

_Nora_. And then?--

_Mrs. Linde_. Well, I had to turn my hand to anything I could
find--first a small shop, then a small school, and so on. The last three
years have seemed like one long working-day, with no rest. Now it is at
an end, Nora. My poor mother needs me no more, for she is gone; and the
boys do not need me either; they have got situations and can shift for
themselves.

_Nora_. What a relief you must feel it--

_Mrs. Linde_. No, indeed; I only feel my life unspeakably empty. No one
to live for any more. (_Gets up restlessly_.) That is why I could not
stand the life in my little backwater any longer. I hope it may be
easier here to find something which will busy me and occupy my thoughts.