Question

read the excerpt from act 2 of a dolls houserank: let me play for herhelmer getting up. yes, do. i can correct her betterthen.rank sits down at the piano and plays. nora dancesmore and more wildly. helmer has taken up a positionbeside the stove, and during her dance gives herfrequent instructions. she does not seem to hear him;her hair comes down and falls over her shoulders, shepays no attention to it, but goes on dancing. enter mrs.linde.mrs. linde: standing as if spell - bound in the doorwayoh!—nora: as she dances such fun, christine!helmer: my dear daring nora, you are dancing as if yourwhich statement best describes the dramatic irony inthis passage?the audience knows that the tarantella is supposed tobe wildly fast, but helmer does not.the audience knows that nora is intentionally failing todance correctly, but helmer does not.the audience knows that helmer does not know howto dance, but nora does not know thisthe audience knows that doctor rank loves nora,but helmer does not know that he does.

Explanation:

Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows information that a character does not. In this excerpt from A Doll's House, Helmer is focused on correcting Nora's dance, but the audience recognizes Nora is purposefully dancing poorly and ignoring him to distract Helmer from finding the letter that would expose her secret. The other options are incorrect: the tarantella's tempo is not the core irony here, Helmer's dance ability is irrelevant, and Doctor Rank's feelings are not the focus of this specific scene's irony.

Answer:

B. The audience knows that Nora is intentionally failing to dance correctly, but Helmer does not.