Ibsen, on the
other hand, deliberately employed this device on three conspicuous
occasions. The entrance of Dr. Rank in the last act of _A Doll's House_
is a wholly unnecessary interruption to the development of the crisis
between Nora and Helmer. The scene might be entirely omitted without
leaving a perceptible hiatus in the action; yet who does not feel that
this brief respite lends gathered impetus to the main action when it is
resumed? The other instances are offered by the two apparitions of Ulric
Brendel in _Rosmersholm._ The first occurs when Rosmer is on the very
verge of his momentous confession to Kroll, the second when Rosmer and
Rebecca are on the very verge of their last great resolve; and in each
case we feel a distinct value (apart from the inherent quality of the
Brendel scenes) in the very fact that the tension has been momentarily
suspended. Such a _rallentando_ effect is like the apparent pause in the
rush of a river before it thunders over a precipice.
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