I. Introduction A. Torvald Helmer and Nils Krogstad are both men who use Nora Helmer in hope of advancing or protecting his career; but Nils is the one who releases Nora, while Torvald tries to tighten his control over Nora. B. Identify the complete title and author’s name and give the date of publication of the play. Give a brief summary of the plot. C. Nils Krogstad is a better man than Torvald Helmer because of the hope he has about the future and his change of heart about blackmailing the Helmers. II. Both Nils and Torvald use or try to use Nora for personal advancement. A. In Act I (1743-1744), Krogstad informs Nora that her forgery of her father’s name is a fraud against Krogstad and threatens to expose her to Torvald In Act III, Torvald reads Krogstad’s letter and verbally attacks Nora. B. In Act III, Torvald tells Nora, “you’ve wrecked all my happiness-ruined my whole fortune” (1769). C. Nils Krogstad is trying to protect his job and his children, and is “less of a traditional villain when we realize that he is fighting for his job at the bank” (Witham and Lutterbie, 1785). Torvald Helmer is using Nora as a pretty doll to keep up appearances that will help him in his job, and Torvald even attempts to keep Nori from eating macaroons because of this focus on beauty. According to Toril Moi, “Helmer is worried that Nora will destroy her pretty teeth” (Moi 262). D. Krogstad is trying to do good, being able to take care of his children, in a wrong way; but the attempt
Although Nora is secretive about the crime she committed, which is forging her father’s name in order to borrow money; she does it to save her husband. During Act I when Nora is speaking to Mrs. Linde about someday revealing to Torvald about the secret loan Nora exclaims: “One day I might, yes. Many years from now, when I’ve lost my looks a little. Don’t laugh. I mean, of course, a time will come when Torvald is not as devoted to me, not quite so happy when I dance for him, and dress for him, and play with him.” (Act I, pg. 12). This quotation shows that even early on in the play Nora understands the reality of her marriage, and her existence to Torvald. Therefore, Act I is merely an introduction to the overall overarching theme of independence. Act I shows the obedient side of Nora, until later scenes when she reveals her independence. Torvald attempts to oppress his wife, but his actions do not stop Nora’s independent thoughts from forming.
Krogstad victimizes Nora in a very different way than her husband and father. Krogstad does not use his position of dominance as a man to control her. Instead he uses blackmail to manipulate Nora to his will. As we examine her situation Nora seems more a victim of circumstance here than of the not so evil will of her blackmailer.
restricted to playing with the children, doing little housework, and working on her needlepoint. A problem with her responsibilities is that her most important obligation is to please Torvald, making her role similar to that of a slave. Torvald easily talks down to Nora saying things like: “…worries that you couldn’t possible help me with”, “Nora, Nora, just like a woman”, and “Mayn’t I look at my dearest treasure? At all the beauty that belongs to no one but me—that’s my very own?” as if she is considered his property.
Previous to the opening of the play, Nora makes the decision to get a loan without Torvald's knowledge so that he can go to Italy and improve his health, showing compassion and love for her husband. Nora's aquiring the loan with her father as a guarantor, shows that she cared enough not to worry her husband with money problems at a time that he needed to heal. Forging her
Even though Nora’s intention is “to spare her father anxiety” and “to save her husband” (p. 1367); she is informed by Krogstad that “the law cares nothing about motive” (p. 1367), and “it is the law by which you will be judged” (p. 1367). In order for Krogstad not to expose the forgery, she pleaded with her husband, with no prevail, to give Krogstad the banking position. Sadly, this causes Nora to think of suicide to end the continuing lies. Although Nora thought about suicide, she changes her mind after witnessing her husband's reactions. As the truth is exposed, she realizes that her benevolent husband is a coward and selfish man that only love the idea of loving her, not her.
When Krogstad threatens to expose the truth, Nora must use her craftiness to distract Torvald and sway him into letting Krogstad keep his job. Unfortunately, she is not able to change his mind, but she does succeed in diverting his suspicions of her motives. She praises him and lulls him into a false sense of security by telling him that "[n]o one has such good taste as [he has]" and then goes on to ask him if he could "take [her] in hand and decide what [she is] to go as" for the dance. She confesses to him that she "can't do anything without [him] to help [her]". These statements lead him to believe that he is the one to "rescue" her, when it is in fact Nora who is trying to rescue him from dishonour. Later on, when Krogstad puts a letter in Torvald's mail, explaining everything that Nora has done, Nora uses her charms once more. She pretends that she has forgotten the tarantella so that Torvald will spend all his time with her and think nothing of the mail that awaits him. Nora truly believes that by deceiving her husband, she is protecting him from worry. Because of Nora's deception, the person that Torvald believes her to be is quite different from the person she actually is. He believes that she is a "spendthrift," infatuated by expensive things when in reality, she saves her money to pay back Krogstad and buys cheap clothing and gifts. Torvald
In act two, Nora is slowly beginning to understand Trovald's true persona. Nora, maybe for the first time in her life, asks Torvald for a favor, to not fire an employee. He replies to her by asking "Do you suppose I am going to make myself ridiculous before my whole staff, to let people think that I am a man to be swayed by all sorts of outside influence"(Act II). This rhetorical question reveals Torvald's main concern of appearance. His greater concern for the image rather than Nora displays the lack of love in the relationship. It contradicts Nora's courageous act of borrowing money for Torvald, despite the government, for the sake of her love. This argument leads Nora to
Another main difference between Torvald and Nora is how much their self-image matters to them individually. Nora's self-image is the complete opposite of Torvalds. From Nora's perspective she doesn't have much of an image to produce, but she does have the image of herself that Torvald can see along with her close friends. She really cares about what her husband thinks about her so she does whatever she can to make sure that his opinion doesn’t change, she gets worried by how she will look in his eyes after he finds out about the crime she has committed, this is why she tries to stop Torvald from sending Krogstad his notice, "Call it back, Torvald! There's still time. Oh, Torvald, call it back!..."(1304) Nora acts like this because once Torvald finds out what she has done, she knows that he is going to look at her a different way than what he does now. Nora doesn’t want this so she tries preventing Torvald from doing his job. On the other hand, Torvald cares a lot about the way others look at him, he thinks that once people find out what his wife has done that it will destroy his reputation and people will tend to look down upon him. When he finds out about what his wife has done
the play and keeps her within his own game, as if he was playing with
As Mrs. Linde and Nora continue with their conversation, Nora begins to question whether Torvald does love her. Nora begins to tell her story of how she was the one to raise the money for the trip to Italy and not Torvald. She reveals how she went to Krogstad and asked for a loan to help pay for the trip. When Mrs. Linde asked if Torvald knew any of this information Nora replied, "He's so strict on that subject ... with all his masculine pride how painfully humiliating for him if he ever found out he was in debt to me" (1194). Nora did not feel comfortable telling Torvald about the predicament because she did not want to offend him. Torvald is set on complying by his morals and the fact that Nora disobeyed them would dishonor her
In preparation for Nora's dance at the party, we again see Ibsen showing us Torvald's and Nora's roles. "I can't get anywhere without your help."(Ibsen 91) "Direct me. Teach me, the way you always have."(Ibsen 91) Nora's lines reflect the "costume" that Torvald expects her to wear (and which she wears obligingly), that of the meek, subservient, childlike wife.
Nora would continuously put aside Helmer’s remarks: “My poor little Nora”, “My little skylark”; however, with Torvald’s increasing ego; mostly caused by his promotion in the bank, Nora comes to realize that the man she married, is nothing more than a blatant hypocrite. Torvald states, “Oh, my darling wife, I can’t hold you close enough. You know, Nora…many’s the time I wish you were threatened by some terrible danger so I could risk everything, body and soul, for your sake”. This seems like a very considerate gesture for a husband to makes, Torvald yearns to be by Nora’s side.
After Torvald reads Krogstad's first letter, he gets angry and shames Nora. He says that she’s a terrible person and that they have to do anything that Krogstad asks for. Also, he says that Nora can’t see the children anymore because she may corrupt them. After Nora hears this, Nora becomes disappointed in Torvald because he said he would sacrifice and do anything for Nora. She expected Torvald to try to sacrifice himself for her, taking all the blame on himself, which he didn’t to.
Though, he uses interrogative in order to justify his case, he is actually, indirectly, suggesting to Nora, it would not have been of any use to her being a part of any serious conversation. Nora, by this time, has gained the courage to choose to use direct speech and complains openly of how Helmer and her father had in the guise of love wronged her most. She even asserts that his love was only a fancy to keep him entertained with. Helmer in the last dialogue finds it hard to believe and though he quite understands what she says, he shows his ignorance of the words she speaks. A little later in the scene we find Nora who takes a decision to educate herself and find her own way in life.” (Rahman) Rahamn brought the attention of Nora’s father being the starter of her ways. Nora’s father treated her like a child, therefore she acted like, and then she found a husband that treated her like one. Torvald believe he loves Nora but he does not. If he loved her then he would treat Nora in such a
In Act Three Torvald’s conversations with Nora have already made it clear that he is primarily attracted to Nora for her beauty and that he takes personal pride in the good looks of his wife. “From now on, forget happiness. Now it’s just about saving the remains, the wreckage, the appearance.” Showing himself to be obsessed with appearing dignified and respectable to his colleagues, Torvald’s reaction to Krogstad’s letter solidifies his characterization as a shallow man concerned foremost with smoke and mirrors. Here, he states explicitly that the appearance of happiness is more important to him than happiness itself. These words are crucial also because they incorporate Torvald’s actual response to Nora’s crime, and his true disposition in contrast to the resurgence that she expects. Rather than relent his own reputation for Nora’s, Torvald seeks to ensure that his reputation and namesake continues