Later that night, Hedda is asleep in the living room. Mrs. Elvsted is still awake. Berthe enters with a letter. Mrs. Elvsted asks to see it, but it is for Tesman. It is almost dawn. Hedda wakes as Berthe leaves, and Mrs. Elvsted tells her that Ejlert has not yet returned to escort her home. Tesman hasn’t come back either, and Mrs. Elvsted hasn’t slept all night. Hedda assumes that the men must still be at Brack’s house. Mrs. Elvsted despairs. Hedda sends Mrs. Elvsted to nap in her room, promising to wake her as soon as she hears anything. Mrs. Elvsted exits, and Hedda summons Berthe to light a fire.

Tesman returns home, looking exhausted. He is surprised to see Hedda awake so early. Hedda tells him that no one came to take Mrs. Elvsted home. She asks after Ejlert. Tesman admits that he is jealous of Ejlert; he thinks the new book will be “one of the most amazing ever written” (95). He is nevertheless concerned that Ejlert is so out of control. At the party, Ejlert made a drunken speech about his Muse: the woman who inspired him. Tesman assumes that this woman is Mrs.