Immediately after the publication of «Nora» I received a communication from my translator and agent for the North-German theatres, Herr Wilhelm Lange in Berlin, saying he had reason to fear the publication of another translation or «adaptation» of the play with an altered ending, and that this would probably be preferred by a considerable number of North-German theatres.
In order to prevent this eventuality I sent my translator and agent the draft of an alteration to be used in case of necessity. In this version Nora does not leave the house. Instead, Helmer forces her into the doorway of the sleeping children`s nursery, the parents exchange a few lines, Nora sinks to the floor and the curtain falls.
I have myself described this alteration to my translator as a «barbaric act of violence» towards the play. Its use is absolutely contrary to my wishes, and I hope that it will not be used by many German theatres.
As long as there is no literary agreement between Germany and the Scandinavian countries we Scandinavian authors have no rights whatsoever down here, as is the case with German authors in our countries. Thus our dramatic works are constantly being violated both by translators, heads of theatres, directors and actors at minor theatres. But if there is a threat of suchlike in my case, I prefer, having learned from previous experience, to commit such violence myself, rather than surrender my works to treatment and «adaptation» by less careful and less skilful hands than my own.
-From ibsen.net