This Old [Doll] House: Act One

After reading Act One of A Doll's House, I have many questions, but also many thoughts about the characters. To start, I would actually like to look at Torvald Helmer. We already know that he is a prideful character; "Torvald has his pride - most men have - he'd be terribly hurt and humiliated if he thought he'd owed anything to me. It'd spoil everything between us, and our lovely happy home would never be the same again" (Ibsen 161). Nora reveals how he would find it intolerable to rely on his wife at all. Ironically, he ends up relying on her with his life. He refers to Nora as a "skylark," a "scatterbrain," and a "little squirrel." To me, I see these two behaviors as insecurity within Torvald. I see a need to feel both independent and superior to the point of degrading his wife to the level of an animal with his name calling, and his refusal to allow Nora to play a valid part of his life. Torvald seems to be strongly influenced by his reputation and what people think of him, and I think he uses Nora as an outlet to exert authority over at home that maybe he lacks the ability to do so at work. 

A few specific people in our class found it excruciating to watch Torvald address Nora as a pet and treat her like a disabled child. Although I don't agree with his treatment of Nora, I am going to play devil's advocate here. In the quote I mentioned earlier ("Torvald has his pride - most men have - he'd be terribly hurt and humiliated if he thought he'd owed anything to me. It'd spoil everything between us, and our lovely happy home would never be the same again"), Nora admits that their relationship is based around the assumption that Torvald is the superior partner, with Nora in stride. Nora does not once complain about this basis in what we have read so far, and through her actions does not seem to have a problem with it. She jauntily mentions, "Still, it was tremendous fun sitting there working and earning money. It was almost like being a man" (Ibsen 162). Nora sounds more enthralled with the idea of doing "man work" than distraught that she must fit the strict role of a woman. Nora has a more optimistic view. But to Torvald's argument - although he doesn't know it yet - her slip-up with her "father's signature" and Krogstad's loan justify Torvald's view that men should do "men work" and women should do "women work".

What do you think about the husband-wife dynamic between Torvald and Nora? Do you think Nora has more of a problem with her role as a wife or possible just Torvald's personality? Do you think she really has a problem at all? How do you think Torvald treats his children? What do you think will happen next in Act Two?