Dr. Rank is a doctor who is best friends with Torvald and Nora, who he visits every day. Dr. Rank suffers from spinal tuberculosis, a condition he believes was caused by his father’s vices, which included having extramarital affairs and consuming too much luxurious food and drink. Dr. Rank is unmarried and lonely, and over the course of the play it is revealed that he is in love with Nora. Cynical about life, he rejoices when he finds out that his illness is terminal, and insists that neither Torvald nor Nora visit him in his dying days. As he predicted, he is not particularly missed by the other characters.
Dr. Rank Quotes in A Doll's House
The A Doll's House quotes below are all either spoken by Dr. Rank or refer to Dr. Rank. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Act Two
Quotes
Now Dr. Rank, cheer up. You’ll see tomorrow how nicely I can dance. And you can pretend I’m doing it just for you—and for Torvald as well, of course.
Related Characters:
Nora Helmer (speaker), Torvald Helmer, Dr. Rank
Related Symbols:
The Tarantella
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Act Three
Quotes
His suffering and his loneliness seemed almost to provide a background of dark cloud to the sunshine of our lives.
Related Characters:
Torvald Helmer (speaker), Dr. Rank
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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Dr. Rank Character Timeline in A Doll's House
The timeline below shows where the character Dr. Rank appears in A Doll's House. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act One
Dr. Rank and an unnamed lady arrive. Torvald says he does not want to receive visitors, but...
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Torvald exits to meet Dr. Rank in his study, while the lady, wearing traveling clothes, is shown in to see Nora...
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Mrs. Linde asks about Dr. Rank , wondering if his visit means Torvald is still in bad health. Nora explains that...
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...that she isn’t sure whether to show him in yet as Torvald is still with Dr. Rank . Nora asks who it is, and Nils Krogstad announces himself. Mrs. Linde gasps and...
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Dr. Rank enters. Nora introduces him to Mrs. Linde. Mrs. Linde says they came in to the...
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Nora, breaking the tension, says that Dr. Rank is as keen to live as anybody. Dr. Rank says yes, that he, along with...
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Nora suddenly bursts out laughing and Dr. Rank inquires what she laughing about, asking if she knows what society is. Nora replies that...
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Nora offers Dr. Rank a macaroon. He says he thought they were forbidden in Nora’s house. Nora lies that...
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Mrs. Linde, Torvald, and Dr. Rank all go to leave. As they go, Nora asks that they return that evening. The...
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Act Two
...is a trait she inherited from her father. Mrs. Linde then comments on how depressed Dr. Rank seemed the night before, and Nora explains that he has tuberculosis of the spine. She...
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Nora explains that Dr. Rank was Torvald’s best friend as a boy and is also a good friend of hers,...
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...saying she is still a child and that she must stop “all this business with Dr. Rank .” Mrs. Linde recalls Nora’s dream about having a rich old admirer. She asks if...
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...study with both doors shut so he can’t hear anything. He tells her that when Dr. Rank arrives she should tell him to go to Torvald’s study, and exits.
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...if there is a way out. The doorbell rings, and she sees that it is Dr. Rank . She lets Dr. Rank in and tells him that Torvald is busy at the...
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Dr. Rank says he will keep taking advantage of the ability to talk to Nora as long...
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Nora tells Dr. Rank he is being absurd, saying she hoped he would be in a good mood. Dr....
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Suddenly, Nora asks Dr. Rank why he smiled, and Dr. Rank replies that it was in fact Nora who laughed....
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Nora tells Dr. Rank to cheer up and promises that he’ll see her dance tomorrow and he can pretend...
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Dr. Rank muses that he couldn’t imagine what would have happened to him if he’d never encountered...
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Nora tells Dr. Rank that there is something he must help her prevent happening. She tells him how passionately...
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The maid enters with the lamp, before exiting again. Dr. Rank asks if Nora knew that he loved her, and she replies that she can’t tell...
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Dr. Rank explains that he can’t figure Nora out, and that it’s often felt to him that...
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...to Nora and hands her a visiting card. Nora, looking at the card, exclaims. When Dr. Rank asks if something is wrong, she says it is her new costume. Dr. Rank, confused,...
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...room again. He is surprised to see that Nora has not undergone some “marvelous transformation.” Dr. Rank , standing in the doorway, said he also expected this. Nora says she will not...
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...and drapes a colored shawl around herself. Torvald plays and Nora begins to dance, with Dr. Rank watching. Torvald tells her to slow down and be less wild, but Nora laughs and...
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...as if her life depended on it. Nora replies that it does, and Torvald tells Dr. Rank to stop playing, causing Nora to come to a sudden stop. Torvald says Nora has...
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...to be so wild and to be his own singing bird again. Nora ushers Torvald, Dr. Rank and Mrs. Linde to go and eat. Dr. Rank murmurs to Torvald if there is...
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Act Three
There is a knock at the door, and Dr. Rank announces himself. Torvald is annoyed by the intrusion, but greets Dr. Rank in a friendly...
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...not to play with it. Looking through the mail, he finds two visiting cards from Dr. Rank with black crosses above his name. He remarks that it is as if Dr. Rank...
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...be with Nora that night, but Nora asks if he can do that knowing that Dr. Rank is dying. Torvald concedes that he does feel unsettled and that “an ugly thing” has...
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