Read the excerpt from act 2 of A Doll's House . Mrs. Linde: Listen to me, Nora. You are still very like a child in many things, and I am older than you in many ways and have a little more experience. Let me tell you this—you ought to make an end of it with Doctor Rank. Nora: What ought I to make an end of? Mrs. Linde: Of two things, I think. Yesterday you talked some nonsense about a rich admirer who was to leave you money— Nora: An admirer who doesn't exist, unfortunately! But what then? Mrs. Linde: Is Doctor Rank a man of means? Nora: Yes, he is. Mrs. Linde: And has no one to provide for? Nora: No, no one; but— Mrs. Linde: And comes here everyday? Nora: Yes, I told you so. Mrs. Linde: But how can this well-bred man be so tactless? Nora: I don't understand you at all. Mrs. Linde: Don't prevaricate, Nora. Do you suppose I don't guess who lent you the two hundred and fifty pounds? What is the dramatic irony in this passage?
Answer
A
The audience knows that Doctor Rank loaned Nora money, but Nora denies this.
B
The audience knows that Mrs. Linde is jealous of Nora, but Nora does not know this.
C
The audience knows that Nora and Doctor Rank are having an affair, but Nora denies it.
D
The audience knows that Krogstad loaned Nora money, but Mrs. Linde does not know this.
Explanation
Nora borrowed the money from Krogstad, a fact the audience knows from earlier in the play. Mrs. Linde suspects that Doctor Rank lent it, while Nora knows that suspicion is wrong. The dramatic irony is that the audience understands Mrs. Linde’s mistaken guess; she does not know Krogstad was the lender.
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