Answer:
They show the reader that Torvald thinks that Nora bought too much.
Explanation:
Stage directions are the 'extra details' that are included in a script, containing instructions of "how or where or who or what" of the play or story. It also acts as an indication of the tone of the characters' voices, the setting and sounds, and lighting effects. Basically, it provides us the extra information about the whole story or where it was set or what is happening in the background.
In the given excerpt from Henrik Ibsen's play A Doll's House, Torvald is in his room, working, when Nora came back from her Christmas shopping. He doesn't seem to mind what is happening until she used the word "bought". And the use of the word "spendthrift" and "wasting money" seems to suggest his economical behavior, his reluctance to even allow his own wife to have some things that they normally don't. Added to that, Nora also mentioned that "This is the first Christmas that we have not needed to economize" which seems to suggest they have always been so economical with their spending every year. Torvals seems to care a great deal about how money is spent in their household.
Thus, the correct answer is the third option.
