Literature

Steven

Professor Eisen

Act 3

Characterization: Torvald’s explanation for refusing to take the blame that a man can never sacrifice his integrity for love—again reveals the depth of his gender bias. Nora’s response that “hundreds of thousands of women” have done just that underscores that the actions of Mrs. Linde and Nora, both of whom sacrifice themselves for their loved ones, have borne out. Nora’s belief that Torvald should take responsibility for her seems justified, since what she expects from Torvald is no more than what she has already given him. As Nora’s childish innocence and faith in Torvald shatter, so do all of her illusions. She realizes that her husband does not see her as a person but rather as a beautiful possession, nothing more than a toy. She voices her belief that neither Torvald nor her father ever loved her, but rather “thought it was enjoyable to be in love with her.” She realizes these two men cared more about amusing themselves and feeling loved and needed than they did about her as an individual.

Plot: For most of the play, I saw Torvald delighting in Nora’s dependence upon him but not in his control over her. Nora does refer to Torvald’s restrictions of her actions she mentions that he forbids macaroons, for instance but the side of Torvald we see is more pushover than dictator. He seems to love his wife so much that he allows her to do whatever she pleases, as when he gives her more money to spend after she returns from buying gifts. In the scene following the party, however, Torvald’s enjoyment of his control over Nora takes on a darker tone with his somewhat perverse sexual advances toward Nora. He treats her like his possession, like the young girl he first acquired years ago. Contributing to the feeling of control that Torvald is exercising over Nora is that the evening has been of Torvald’s design—he dresses Nora in a costume of his choosing and coaches her to dance the tarantella in the manner that he finds “desirable.”...