Christine Linde

The widowed childhood friend

Christine is a character in the play A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen. She is Nora’s childhood friend but has not seen her for about ten years. Christine tells Nora that she married a wealthy man eight years ago.

The reason for this marriage of convenience was that Christine's ill mother was bedridden at the time and needed help. In addition, Christine had to care for her two younger brothers. She therefore considered it her duty to accept the proposal of a rather wealthy man. However, since his business was very uncertain, everything fell into disrepair and he left nothing to his wife when he died three years ago.

Christine never loved her husband and married for practical reasons, which Nora does not understand at first: "Not even any sorrow or grief to live upon [did he leave me]." (Act 1, 23%). 

Likewise, the couple also had no children (Act 1, 23%). Since her husband left her no financial security, Christine has to work hard in the following three years with a small shop and a small school in order to be able to continue to provide for her relatives. She describes this time as "one long working-day, with no rest" (Act 1, 32%).

The new job and Nora's secret

In the meantime, Christine's mother has died and her brothers are grown up and have their own income. Instead of being relieved, Christine feels at this moment "only unspeakably empty" (Act 3, 32%), because she lacks a person "to live for" (Act 3, 32%). Therefore, she can no longer stand it "in the little backwater" (Act 3, 32%) where she lived with her late husband, and returns to the city, as she expects to have better opportunities in finding work there. 

When Christine learns from Nora that Torvald will be taking over as manager of the joint-stock bank in the coming year, she first asks Nora t...