Shaw on Nora's decision

The ending of the play (''A Doll's House,'' excerpted in ''The loose-leaf library'') is not on the face of it particularly tragic: the alleged ''note of interrogation'' is a sentimental fancy; for it is clear that Helmer is brought to his senses, and that Nora's departure is no claptrap ''Farewell forever,'' but a journey in search of self-respect and apprenticeship to life.