Read the excerpt from act 3 of A Doll’s House.

Mrs. Linde: You seemed to me to imply that with me you might have been quite another man.

Krogstad: I am certain of it.

Mrs. Linde: Is it too late now?

Krogstad: Christine, are you saying this deliberately? Yes, I am sure you are. I see it in your face. Have you really the courage, then—?

Mrs. Linde: I want to be a mother to someone, and your children need a mother. We two need each other. Nils, I have faith in your real character—I can dare anything together with you.

Krogstad [grasps her hands]. Thanks, thanks, Christine! Now I shall find a way to clear myself in the eyes of the world. Ah, but I forgot—

How does the conflict in this passage develop a theme?