Answer:
The answer is: Helmer acts kindly towards Mrs. Linde while she is present, but insults her when she leaves.
Explanation:
This is a question from an excerpt from A Doll's House. To correctly understand this, let's read the excerpt below:
Helmer: Do you know, you ought to embroider.
Mrs. Linde: Really? Why?
Helmer: Yes, it's far more becoming. Let me show you. You hold the embroidery thus in your left hand, and use the needle with the right-like this-with a long, easy sweep. Do you see?
Mrs. Linde: Yes, perhaps
Helmer: But in the case of knitting-that can never be anything but ungraceful; look here-the arms close together, the knitting-needles going up and down-it has a sort of Chinese effect. That was really excellent champagne they gave us.
Mrs. Linde: Well, goodnight, Nora, and don't be self-willed any more.
Helmer: That's right, Mrs. Linde.
Mrs. Linde. Goodnight, Mr. Helmer.
Helmer (accompanying her to the door): Goodnight, goodnight. I hope you will get home all right. I should be very happy to-but you haven't any great distance to go. Goodnight, goodnight.
(She goes out; he shuts the door after her, and comes in again.)
Ah! At last we have got rid of her. She is a frightful bore, that woman.
In the excerpt above, we see how the conflict between Helmer's private and public selves develops the theme that appearances can be deceiving. In the presence of Mrs Linde, Helmer's attitude is kind and warm, but once she leaves, we see that Helmer infact does not like her. This is shown by his statement here "Ah! At last we have got rid of her. She is a frightful bore, that woman".
This shows how deceitful appearances can be because Helmer is showing the opposite of how he really feels towards Mrs. Linde.
Given the explanation above, the answer therefore is: Helmer acts kindly towards Mrs. Linde while she is present, but insults her when she leaves.
