How Does Nora Change Throughout The Play

Nora becomes a free woman and Mrs. Linde shows how a woman doesn’t need a man. Nora is considered a free and independent woman since she finally stood up to her husband. She decided that she should take charge of what she wants, not by words but by action. She does so by leaving the house. Also, she expresses her opinions and thoughts to Torvald for the first time without worrying what he might think because she wants to be on her own without being

A single family income has always made budgets tight and being a wife and mother leaves little opportunity for earnings, in fact Nora did tricks and begged her husband for what little money he gave her. While many critics condemn Torvald’s treatment of Nora, in reality he was no different from any other man during this time period. When their finances were minimal he did whatever it took to take care of his family, working day and night almost to the point of death. For that reason, Nora showed her love for Torvald by securing a loan in order to take a trip to Italy for his treatment and recovery. In doing so, Nora needed to work odd jobs to repay the loan while keeping it a secret from her husband.

Torvald tells her that Nora has a duty as a mother and a wife but Nora tells him that “she is an individual”, showing that she is finally putting herself on par with Torvald, and no longer allowing Torvald to control her, but instead she is trying to gain independence and liberation from social norms in order to break free from the “Doll’s House.” She tells him that she must leave him, because “for eight years [she’d] been living with a stranger”, emphasising how there was never any proper communication and mutual understanding between them, and hence no proper marriage, as she didn’t actually know what his true character was like up until that night, as she was convinced all along that Torvald would be the man to take everything upon

people know that her hband can do everything with the new problems of fear, guilt, and wrongdoing. We can feel that she takes too much pride in it because it remains one of the few independent actions she has ever taken. Mrs. Nora is also proud that she can influence her husband, as she let Krogstad boasts her. She wants to support and help those around her. Although she has been able to exert that sort of influence over Torvalds, he did not notice that, and her power extremely limited as a woman because paradoxically, when Krogstad asks Mrs. Nora to exert this influence on Torvald on his behalf, Nora perceives his request is an insult to her husband, but when she does it is fine.

What Torvald fails to realize about his perfect family, is that they are human beings; not dolls. Torvald’s failure to treat Nora like a respectable

Nora is a married woman and has children to take care of. She really has little freedom because of the way Torvald treats her. She is not even I feel as if deep down she knows she is not free and wants something more in her life then to be a entertaining puppet for Torvald. She realizes at the end of the story that Torvald is not good to her because of the way he acted when she told him about forging the signature. When Torvald called her a criminal and other harsh words she realized that she had no true love from Torvald and wanted to be free from him.

He rather expects her to be more compliant, loyal and wants her to follow the social and moral rules strictly, like he does. Torvald’s assertion that Nora’s lack of understanding of money matters is the result of her gender (“Nora, my Nora, that is just like a woman”) reveals his prejudiced viewpoint on gender roles. Torvald believes a wife’s role is to beautify the home, not only through proper management of domestic life but also through proper behavior and appearance. He quickly makes it known that appearances are very important to him, and that Nora is like an ornament or trophy that serves to beautify his home and his reputation. He tells Nora that he loves her so much that he has wished in the past that Nora’s life were threatened so that he could risk everything to save her.

This brings in to question whether or not it is acceptable for a woman to simply walk away from a marriage, involving three children, and not attempt to work things out. Nora realizes she and the life she has been living has been a complete construct of the way society expects her to be. Nora is Torvald’s doll and her life has not amounted to anything more than making sure he and the world around her is happy. The result of the inequalities she is faced with results in Nora being completely unhappy. Torvald fails to recognize everything that Nora does to ensure his happiness.

During act III, Nora asked to speak to Torvald after her performance of the tarantella dance. The following conversation demonstrated her quest for autonomy and freedom, as well as Torvald’s inadequate responses to her arguments and demands; it also showed how deeply connected her unhappy situation is with society’s regulation of the relationship between the sexes. She asserts that she is “...first and foremost a human being”, and her strong conviction that her womanhood, and the expectations associated with it, are secondary, strengthens her resolve to make a radical choice: A break with both husband and, with necessity due to her legal position, her children (Ibsen, 184). During her conversation with Torvald, she proclaims, “I have other sacred duties... The duties to myself (Ibsen, 184).”

In the end, Nora inevitably chooses to leave her family. In this decision to as stated “educate” herself, she leaves her children motherless, and runs from a substantial household. Some may say that she was unhappy, but Nora never brought it to Torvald’s attention that she was unhappy and chooses to leave him behind without ever giving

First, Nora is treated like a child by her husband Torvald. Torvald had nicknames for Nora like squirrel or skylark that was often accompanied by demenors like sweet or little. At the end of the play, Nora tells her husband that he treated her like a weak, fragile doll just like her father. Nora’s feelings about Torvald’s attitude is evident in the quote from Nora and Torvald’s conversation ”I was your little songbird just as before- your doll whom henceforth you would take particular care to protect from the world because she was so weak and fragile. ”(Pg.

As the play progresses, it is revealed that Nora’s disobedience consists of more than simply eating the occasional macaroon: at the beginning of her marriage, she secretly borrowed money from Nils Krogstad and forged her father’s signature in order to finance a trip to Italy that was necessary to save Torvald’s life. When Torvald finds out about the debt and fails to forgive her until he is sure that his reputation is safe, Nora realizes that her understanding of herself, her husband, her marriage, and even her society was all wrong. She decides that she can no longer be happy in her life and marriage, and resolves to leave Torvald and her home in order to find a sense of self and learn about the world. The play's final image of Nora is of an embittered yet sophisticated, intelligent, and newly empowered woman boldly escaping the

Torvald treats Nora as his little doll, like a plaything, whereas Nora treats Torvald as the man she will love forever that she can even sacrifice herself for him. In the beginning of the play, Torvald always calls Nora by different

The play begins with Nora being portrayed as a self-indulgent and whimsical woman with childlike qualities. After the porter asks Nora for “a shilling”, (Ibsen, p.23) she tips him over-generously with a pound, directing him to “keep it,” (p.23) giving the audience the impression that Nora does not know the value of money, much like a child would not. Her immature extravagance is recognized through her desire to spend Torvald’s higher salary right away, even though it will not be received for another three months. His

Nora’s Italian dress appears to be exquisite to Torvald, which made him call her his “little Capri girl” (Ibsen 67), infantilizing Nora as well as reifying her by saying “she’s worth looking” (Ibsen 67). Even though the dress is chosen by Torvald and shows how Nora is made feminine under the male gaze, this dress can be read as a costume to reinforce Nora’s power instead of the mere surface Torvald envisions. During the time when Torvald was sick and the household moved to Italy, Nora was the one who covered all the expenses that will be used on curing her husband’s illness—she loaned money and did work that are strictly for men, such as copywriting. Not only did she support him financially, she also took physical care of Torvald; she was always by his side.