Act 1, Part 2 Summary

Alone with Doctor Herdal, Solness asks him whether he's noticed anything unusual about Aline's behavior. Herdal comments that the only thing he's noticed is that Aline doesn't much like Kaia, wonders whether the situation might be too much of a strain for her, and asks whether it's true that there have been a number of relationships with young women in Solness' life, some of whom he became quite attached to. Solness doesn't deny any of it, but when Herdal asks whether his relationship with Kaia is of the same sort, Solness changes the subject.

Solness tells a long story about how he hired Ragnar and Brovik to fill a need in his firm. He was doubtful of Ragnar staying because he (Ragnar) wanted to be independent as soon as possible. Kaia came on an errand, and Ragnar became completely infatuated with...