Mrs. Linde stops by to help Nora prepare for a costume ball. Nora explains to Mrs. Linde that Krogstad is blackmailing her about the earlier loan. After Nora again begs Torvald not to fire Krogstad, her husband sends Krogstad an immediate notice of his dismissal. Nora is desperate and decides to ask help from Dr. Rank, a family friend, for a loan, to clear Krogstad. Before she can ask him for his help, Dr. Rank makes it obvious that he is in love with her and Nora decides that because of this it would be unwise to ask his help. Krogstad visits Nora once again and this time leaves a letter for Torvald in which Nora’s dishonesty is revealed. To divert Torvald’s attention from the Krogstad’s letter in the mailbox, Nora engages him to help with her practice of the dance she is to perform, the tarantella. Finally, Nora asks Torvald to promise that he will not read the mail until after the party.

In the opening of the second act, the stripped Christmas tree not only shows that time has passed, but also symbolizes a negative shift from the  joy of Christmas to a sense of ruin and chaos. Nora’s obsession in checking to see if any person or letter has arrived and assurances that no one will come for two days gives a sense of time running out and impending disaster.

Nora cannot think of anything else but her secret and the possibility of someone finding out. She tries to occupy herself with the clothes but is unable to.

As the play progresses, it becomes more and more clear how possessive Torvald is. Nora’s pride at saying Dr. Rank is “her” friend suggests she doesn’t really have many friends now that she is married. Nora believes that the reason that Torvald is so controlling is because he is so in love with her.

Nora seems increasingly desperate and crazed. Her mutterings to herself when she is alone show the effect that concealing her secret in front of others is having on her. She lies easily to Dr. Rank, showing how natural lying has become to her.

Nora flirts with Dr. Rank in a very provocative manner. When she teases him with the stockings, this is a very explicit sexual gesture. Her promise to dance for him likewise betrays a disregard for the boundaries of her marriage and a delight in displaying her femininity and sexuality.

Nora is almost asking Dr. Rank to help with keeping the secret of the debt from Torvald, but she is stopped by his confession of love. The confession changes her view of Dr. Rank completely. Where before she perhaps thought flirtation was harmless, the fact that Dr. Rank seems to genuinely love her becomes too much to handle, and she retreats in a rather childlike way.

Krogstad is determined to keep his position at the bank, to the extent of lacking etiquette for Nora, which shows he is desperate. Meanwhile, Nora must cover her tracts in front of everyone—even the maid—hence increasing her isolation.