In Act 2, section 1 of A Doll's House, it's Christmas Day, and Nora has refused to see her children.

Nora talks with the nurse, a

woman who essentially has raised Nora, acting as her mother, and they talk about the costume and the children. The nurse says the
costume needs mending. It can easily be put in order with patience. Nora says she would like to tear the dress into a hundred
thousand pieces. She's actually said this of the bond for the debt, the nasty dirty paper to Christine earlier. Then, Nora asks the
nurse how she could have left her own daughter behind to work full-time as Nora's nurse. The nurse replies, a poor girl who has
got into trouble should be glad to. Besides, that wicked man didn't do a single thing for me. Nora nervously prepares for the
upcoming costume party with Christine, who drops by to help mend Nora's old torn costume, which Torvalds insists Nora wear.
They discuss Dr. Rank and her loan problem. Christine finds Nora's relationship with Dr. Rank really strange. She leaves when
Torvalds enters. Nora begs him not to fire Kroonstad. Angered, Torvalds sends the dismissal letter to Kroonstad immediately
instead of waiting until the new year. Softening a little, Torvalds makes a promise to Nora. He will later break.

Come what will, I shall have both courage and strength if they be needed. Right after Torvalds makes this declaration, he soothes
Nora, saying, they're there, not those frightened dove’s eyes. The state of the Christmas tree in the beginning of this section serves
to show the passing of time and represents Nora's emotional decline. The candles on the tree are burned down. The tree is in the
corner, stripped of its ornaments, and its branches are disheveled.

This section continues to weave connections between the characters, specifically between Nora and Dr. Rank and between
Torvalds and Nora's papa. Dr. Rank is an example of immorality manifesting from one generation into the next. Nora tells
Christine his father was a horrible man, and that is why his son was sickly from childhood. Near the end of the scene, Torvalds
assumes Nora is in a frightened state because she's traumatized by humiliation from childhood when her father was suspected of
immoral behavior. Torvalds claims an important difference between himself and her papa. Your father's reputation as a public
official was not above suspicion.

Here, husband and wife are shown as intrinsically linked, as our father and daughter. The interwoven relationships and their
resonant traumas and shames invite the audience to question whether it is truly possible for an individual to even exist outside of
society. Torvalds calling Nora a dove, rather than a usual skylark or song word, invokes a dove's symbolic religious significance,
thus a connection between marriage and religion is suggested here.

In act 2 section 2 of a doll's house Nora agonizes over Kroonstad exposing the secret lone thinking doctor ranked a man of
privilege and economic status may be able to help her however dr. rank shows up and not only reveals his own impending death
but his running out of money and his intense feelings of love for Nora he confronts Nora for flirting with him and then explains
that she misled him and continues that Torvalds refined nature gives him a none conquerable disgust at everything that is ugly at
the end of the conversation dr. rank assumes that Nora's problem that's clearly weighing on her is the lie she tells him a new dress
has come and she wants to keep it a secret from Torvalds krogstad then drops by and demands to see Nora and after they talked
about how Nora can't help him keep his job drops a letter divulging the loan and forgery into the locked letter box outside
Torvalds office crog's dad will expose everything in act 2 section 2 Nora and dr. ranks conversation quickly plunges into the topic
of self-awareness through the doctors confession of facing the ugly truth of his impending death his dialogue not only shows that
dr. ranks self-awareness is on a level higher than the other characters but also that he unlike Torvald is willing to try to have a
meaningful conversation with Nora he asks her why she is laughing whereas Torvald perpetually insists that Nora laugh and sing
no matter if she is happy or sad yet as much as dr. rank embraces reality he still lacks perception into the depth of Nora's character
leaving her to find independence and solve her own problem .

In act 2 section 3 of a doll's house Norah distracts Torvald from reading crime stats letter by having him help her rehearse the
tarantella a dance she's going to perform at Torvalds request for tomorrow night's masquerade ball dancing faster and more crazily
Nora's wild rendition of the tarantella reflects her mad focus on trying to keep Torvald from reading the letter noticing that Nora is
agitated Christine offers to visit crag staff to try to convince him to take the letter back unread but Krogstad is not home when she
visits Nora's dancing of the tarantella represents her evolving independence as she refuses to obey Torvalds various commands to
slow down and dance the way he had specifically taught her at the same time Nora reveals her belief that a wonderful thing is
going to happen the thing that makes her ecstatic as shown by your dancing what could this wonderful thing be is it that she's
willing to dance unabashedly and embrace the role Torvald demands she play after all she does say to him Torvald dear criticize
me and correct me or is it her belief that she is somehow becoming more free on her own terms or is she just coming unhinged this
is heavy foreshadowing of the dramatic conclusion of the play .

In Act 3,Section 1 of a doll's house Christine meets with Kroonstad and reveals she still harbors love for him wishing for them to
join forces it turns out many years ago the two were a couple Christine reveals two crops dad her true motivation and visiting
Nora and it's significant that it is not on as she originally told Nora to find pleasure in work but because there is not the least
pleasure in working for oneself crog's dad actually offers to recall his letter to Torvald and not expose Nora's loan in forgery now
that Christine wants to marry him but Christine instead tells him to leave the letter in the Box crog's dad waits for Christine
outside while she says good night to Torvald and Nora Torvald who is a little drunk is bored with Christine and he demonstrates
how two-faced he is when he exclaims what already when Christine rises to leave but then won't walk her home because she
hasn't any great distance to go finally spouting off at last we got rid of her after she's gone as they reunite Christine and a
redeemed Krogstad former relationship that sharply contrasts Nora and Torvalds relationship Christine and crops dad have both
learned to be honest by paying for the consequences of their dishonesty Nora and Torvald still have these difficult lessons looming
ahead particularly ones pertaining to individual self-awareness spoiler alerts Christine will play a part in pushing Nora to
relinquish her role as a wife and mother although it is not Christine's intention that Nora should do so Christine's wisdom goes
beyond what Nora will learn by the end of the play Christine and Krogstad find the necessity of honesty and self-awareness in a
redemptive marriage rooted in depth and truth they're honest interactions served to shine a spotlight on the helmers superficial
dishonest relationship the exchange between Nora Torvald and Christine supports the idea that Christine and Krogstad are wiser
and more honest than Nora and Torvald a little drunk on champagne Torvald reveals his shallowness indicating how erroneously
he sees his true nature he forces Nora through the door commenting that she ought to come inside from the cold and then moments
later takes her shawl off as if she were really a doll for Christine to admire Torvald comes into the scene wearing a mask and
although he takes it off his character metaphorically keeps it on in that he's only concerned with the appearance of things for
example he launches into a diatribe on how the act of embroidering makes a woman look prettier than knitting does and his further
criticism of Christine as a frightful bore suggests how distasteful he finds the very qualities that Nora lacks honesty and self-
awareness .

In act 3 section 2 of the dollhouse Torvald in a festive mood acts romantically toward Nora but they're interrupted by a visit from
dr. rank during which he lets Nora know he's dying then Torvald reads crog's dad's letter he becomes completely unglued so far
Torvald hasn't experienced any resistance to his ideas of self-righteousness but just as he feels the first touch of pressure he
buckles and renounces his wife diving deep into the passioned depths of hatred he calls Nora a miserable creature he's wracked
with embarrassment and shame showing no compassion for her but then he reads a new letter crog's dad's left behind which tells
her she is forgiven and he won't go through with exposing her in turn a relieved Torvald instantly forgives Nora here at the climax
of the play Torvalds morality is given the ultimate test his character's success or failure places him in the center of the conflict the
place Nora has held until this moment Torvald has been moralizing and demanding perfect loyalty sacrifice and truth from Nora
all along Christine doctor rank and crog's dad have also been pressing her for honesty even before the big moment of truth
Torvalds character begins to show an unsavory side his fantasies reveal he is sexually motivated by his desire to be both sneaky
and dominating then he scolds Nora for saying I won't in response to his sexual advances you won't am I not your husband and
when the moment of truth comes in Torvalds response to the letter it is significant that he has two opposite responses one of
renunciation and one of sharp forgiveness the first response is caused by his fears of personal ruin and loss and his second only
comes after those fears have been removed this is the moment Nora's character is crystallized for the audience she never
announces her husband to alleviate her own fear in pain but he easily even enthusiastically does this to her now the audience sees
that all his promises are nothing but empty words when put to the test the concept of understanding is the philosophical idea this
part of the play explores Christine has just introduced the idea of understanding being the key to a true relationship and here on
display is the crisis of Nora and Torvalds misunderstanding of each other as Torvald reveals deep feelings of resentment toward
Nora's papa he also reveals to Nora that he will not sacrifice for her in the way she sacrificed so greatly for him in this revelation
Nora's understanding of Torvald shatters at last she sees him as he truly is .

In Act three section three of a doll's house Nora and Torvald talked seriously about their marriage and Nora's intention to end it
Nora calm and collected tells Torvald he is no longer obligated to her and she's leaving him Torvalds revelation of just how
quickly he was able to venomously denounced Nora has opened her eyes having been treated as a doll by her father and then her
husband Nora never had to develop her own opinions about religion morality or the law she's unclear about her own identity and
she powerfully realizes she must be on her own to develop it Torvald lacks a general understanding of Nora's desire for self-
awareness and tries desperately to define an align Nora's views on sacred duties religion and conscience with his own but Nora
has made up her mind she explains but you neither think nor talk like the man I could bind myself to they give their wedding rings
back to each other Nora leaves saying she's never coming back even to see her children don't write don't call don't search for her
Torvald sinks into a chair and despair his face buried in his hands the play famously closes with the slamming of a door imp 'sons
intense ending declares the plays message that women and men will have no understanding between them only when women have
gone through the necessary experiences that lead to self-awareness including education which results in equality is real wedlock
possible Torvalds character represents all men when he tells Nora but no man would sacrifice his honor for the one he loves and
she responds as if representing all women it is a thing hundreds of thousands of women have done the last section of the play
addresses the misunderstandings between them and Nora's voice casts judgments upon men's great sin against women they have
never sat down to serious conversation or tried in earnest to get to the bottom of anything this addresses the ideas woven
throughout the play linked to men thinking of women as less intelligent Nora does not care what others in society will say about
her leaving she sees that Torvald is exactly like her papa and their home has been nothing but a playroom and the most
thematically powerful example of Nora's transformation is conveyed to the audience when she says I believe I am a reasonable
human being just as you ar

Symbols

Money the tarantella dance and birds are the emblematic ornamental symbols at play in a doll's house [Music] money symbolizes
men's control over women who were not allowed equal access to it the play begins with Nora coquettish Lee asking Torvald for
money and ends with her refusing to take any belongings from his house except those she owned before they met earning a
symbolic kind of freedom when she refuses her husband's financial help as she sets out to find herself in fact the entire plot of the
play is driven by Nora's taking money in secret from crog's dad Christine in direct contrast to Nora has means to make money
which gives her the power to make her own choices the tarantella is an Italian folk dance based on the frenzied movements
victims make to draw out the poison after being bitten by a spider Nora's wild performance of this dance symbolizes the pretense
Torvald and Nora have set in the play as the staple of their relationship he instructs she performs he criticizes and she dances
faster to please but that doesn't please him either when Nora rehearses the tarantella she dances with wild abandon she's trying to
please but she's also actually frantic perhaps to remove the poison of corruption Torvald has suggested she possesses when he
refers to crog's dad's lack of character birds are also symbols that show up often when Nora is happy in the way Torvald likes and
expects he calls her his Skylark or songbird when she's frightened she is his dove when she's unhappy Torvald scolds Nora
referring to her in terms of birds such as a songbird must have a clean beak birds represent Torvalds view of Nora as a fragile light
creature meant to entertain and delight him but one he must also protect they also represent Nora's flight to freedom as she's like a
bird in a cage singing for her keep in the beginning of the play but escaping her cage circumstances by the end you

Themes

Key themes like sexism the individual versus society self-awareness and honesty contribute to the lasting resonance of the
incredible play a doll's house sexism flows beneath Nora and Torvalds relationship one based on stereotypes their roles in the
marriage are defined by what men and women are supposed to do rather than what might work for the couple as individuals
Torvald represents the belief that women should accept a lesser status and value than men Nora represents the masses of women
who have given up their unique identities in order to conform to societal stereotypes and these roles are just as false unfulfilled
and unsustainable as the limiting men's beliefs that created them near the end of the play Torvald reveals the low regard he has for
women incapable of seeing Nora as her own person with her own thoughts wants needs Nora knows she has no choice except to
leave Torvald and her sexist marriage in order to find herself the theme of individual versus society comes up often especially
when Krogstad brings up the central question of whether a person can truly be an individual within the boundaries of society to be
an individual means to reject or ignore social norms however characters surrounding Noora suggest that complete exclusion from
society is impossible Krogstad is committed the same crime as Nora Christine has achieved the independence Nora longs for in
the beginning of the play but both have paid a heavy price parallels between Nora and these characters who have lived outside of
society's expectations anchors Nora's defiance of society itself [Music] the theme of self-awareness unfolds throughout Nora's
journey at the beginning of the play Nora is unaware that she lacks self-awareness but as the play unfolds she gains a sense of this
as she matches her intellectual moral and emotional viewpoint to those of her husband and father the horror of the thought of
herself as being unworthy or harmful to her children forces Nora to see the consequences of her actions at the end of act 2 and she
withdraws incrementally from her children throughout the rest of the play dr. rank also represents this theme both in his ability to
see that his death is nigh and to admit to Nora that he's in love with her he stands in stark contrast to his friend Torvald who
exposes himself as a hypocrite and an unaware man honesty is another theme in the play as you cannot know yourself or have a
healthy relationship without it the more Nora lies and hides from the truth the more confused she becomes but Christine serves to
unravel the lies told the Torvald and the deeper lies of Nora's self-deception Christine's telling crog's dad to leave the letter that
Torvald must read it makes the truth inescapable for Nora with the exposure comes the opportunity to take her flight to freedom
the old adage the truth shall set you free rings particularly true by the end of the play.

Summary and Analysis

In the introduction of the play a doll's house Nora hammer a young happy wife and mother of three enters her home followed by a
porter toting a Christmas tree her husband Torvald calls out to her from his office he believes his wife is wasteful with money and
teases Nora for spending too much in the rising action Nora shows Torvald her presence and requests money for her own
Christmas present Torvald gives it but has no idea Nora needs money for a loan she borrowed without his consent that she's been
working in secret to pay back her lender Christine a childhood friend of Nora's drops by and the two women discuss how their
lives have changed since they last saw each other Nora brags about Torvalds new position at the bank and offers to convince him
to hire Christine Nora then describes how she saved Torvalds life early in their marriage by providing the money they needed to
spend a year in Italy but the loans lender crog's dad soon arrives to meet with Torvald doctor rank a close friend of Torvald and
Nora comes in and gossips about crocks dad's bad reputation for being caught up in a scandal years ago Torvald meets Christine
and says he's willing to give her a position at the bank where he's a manager crog's dad slips back into the house he thinks Torvald
will replace him at the bank where he works with Christine whom he is known from the past crog's dad blackmails Nora watching
her to influence Torvald to let him keep his job when Nora refuses Krogstad reminds her that she has committed fraud by forging
her father's signature for the loan Nora tries to persuade Torvald not to fire crog's dad but Torvald fires crog's dad immediately
instead of waiting until the new year Nora considers asking doctor rank for help but changes her mind when the doctor confesses
his love for her crog's dad decides to expose Nora and drops a letter about the loan and forgery into a locked letter box outside of
Torvalds office Nora tells Christine that crog's dad is her money lender Dean rushes out to convince crog's dad to recall the letter
and expresses a desire to begin a new relationship with him even though she chose another man when they were younger crog's
dad offers to recall his letters to torval but Christine tells him not to believing honesty will bring understanding in Donora and
Torvalds marriage in the play's climax Torvald reads crog's dad's letter revealing the loan and forgery in the falling action Torvald
calls Nora immoral showing his self-centeredness and chastises her viciously but a new letter from Ronstadt arrives saying he's
forgiven the loan ecstatic that his reputation will not be damaged Torvald instantly forgives Nora Nora finally sees that her
husband does not truly love her understand her she will always be nothing more than his dog she decides to leave her family
educate herself and make her own way in the world in the resolution Torvalds sinks into a chair and despair his face buried in his
hands the play famously closes with the flattening of a door [Music] five key characters take the stage in a doll's house and bring
the powerful drama to life first is the protagonist Nora Helmer Nora is the cheerful wife of Torvald Helmer and the mother of their
three children she takes small jobs and scrounges money from Torvald to pay back a secret loan she took without her proud
husband's consent or knowledge for a trip his doctor said would save his life but this secret financial burden wears on her causing
resentment a desire to be respected by her husband and freedom from the limitations society places on her because she's a woman
but Nora's faith in her husband's superior morality unravels over the course of the play when he maligns her in response to the
possibility that she'll hurt his reputation but then quickly restores it Nora realizes their marriage is a sham she leaves Torvald
intent on discovering who she really is and what she really believes it Torvald Helmer is the condescending traditionally
patriarchal husband of Nora he feels it's his duty to provide a moral reality for his wife including instructing her on how she
should think feel behave and act he believes she needs constant guidance because she's intellectually inferior and childish but all
the while he delights in her beauty Torvald resents Nora's deceased father for what he sees as negative character traits his wife has
inherited without realizing that he is similar to the man he criticizes when Nora's secret is revealed he admits a narrow perspective
rise to the surface as Nora leaves he is left adrift in confusion and despair Krogstad is trying to regain his reputation in an
unforgiving society after being caught and ruined for a crime he committed in the past through employment in a bank where
Torvald is the manager his desperation drives him to blackmail Nora it is Christine offering him a second chance that saves him it
turns out he isn't motivated by money or desire to win respect from society rather he needs love understanding and honesty these
things Christine offers end up redeeming him Christine lonely and tired arrives on Nora's step essentially in search of a reason to
live having chosen money over love in her marriage she now finds herself without means or family life she tries to steer her friend
Nora from making bad choices and losing all she has wishing for Nora to have a future based on honesty or understanding
Christine drives Nora's revelation that she must seek self-awareness and independence and reverses her own misfortune finding
love purpose and a second chance doctor ranked a close friend of Nora and Torvald diagnosis physical conditions and moral
ailments of those around him like Torvald he believes that morality or immorality is inherited both physically nature and through
upbringing nurture but dr. rank ultimately turns out to contrast Torvalds self-delusion of moral superiority dr. rank sees reality he
faces his impending death and admits his feelings to Nora making Torvald the only character in the play who remains clueless
about his true nature money the tarantella dance and birds are the emblematic ornamental symbols at play in a doll's house
[Music] money symbolizes men's control over women who were not allowed equal access to it the play begins with Nora
coquettish Lee asking Torvald for money and ends with her refusing to take any belongings from his house except those she
owned before they met earning a symbolic kind of freedom when she refuses her husband's financial help as she sets out to find
herself in fact the entire plot of the play is driven by Nora's taking money in secret from crog's dad Christine in direct contrast to
Nora has means to make money which gives her the power to make her own choices the tarantella is an Italian folk dance based
on the frenzied movements victims make to draw out the poison after being bitten by a spider Nora's wild performance of this
dance symbolizes the pretense Torvald and Nora have set in the play as the staple of their relationship he instructs she performs he
criticizes and she dances faster to please but that doesn't please him either when Nora rehearses the tarantella she dances with wild
abandon she's trying to please but she's also actually frantic perhaps to remove the poison of corruption Torvald had suggested she
possesses when he refers to crog's dad's lack of character birds are also symbols that show up often when Nora is happy in the way
Torvald likes and expects he calls her his Skylark or songbird when she's frightened she is his dove when she's unhappy Torvald
scolds Nora referring to her in terms of birds such as a songbird must have a clean beak birds represent Torvalds view of Nora as a
fragile light creature meant to entertain and delight him but one he must also protect they also represent Nora's flight to freedom
as she's like a bird in a cage singing for her keep in the beginning of the play but escaping her cage circumstances by the end key
themes like sexism the individual versus society self-awareness and honesty contribute to the lasting resonance of the incredible
play a doll's house sexism flows beneath Nora and Torvalds relationship one based on stereotypes their roles in the marriage are
defined by what men and women are supposed to do rather than what might work for the couple as individuals Torvald represents
the belief that women should accept a lesser status and value than men Nora represents the masses of women who have given up
their unique identities in order to conform to societal stereotypes and these roles are just as false unfulfilled and unsustainable as
the limiting men's beliefs that created them near the end of the play Torvald reveals the low regard he has for women incapable of
seeing Nora as her own person with her own thoughts wants needs Nora knows she has no choice except to leave Torvald and her
sexist marriage in order to find herself the theme of individual versus society comes up often especially when Krogstad brings up
the central question of whether a person can truly be an individual within the boundaries of society to be an individual means to
reject or to ignore social norms however characters surrounding Nora suggests that complete exclusion from society is impossible
crog's dad has committed the same crime as Nora Christine has achieved the independence Nora longs for in the beginning of the
play but both have paid a heavy price parallels between Nora and these characters who have lived outside of society's expectations
anchors Nora's defiance of society itself [Music] the theme of self-awareness unfolds throughout Nora's journey at the beginning
of the play Nora is unaware that she lacks self-awareness but as the play unfolds she gains a sense of this as she matches her
intellectual moral and emotional viewpoints to those of her husband and father the horror of the thought of herself as being
unworthy harmful to her children forces Nora to see the consequences of her actions at the end of act 2 and she withdraws
incrementally from her children throughout the rest of the play dr. rank also represents this theme both in his ability to see that his
death is nigh and to admit to Nora that he's in love with her he stands in stark contrast to his friend Torvald who exposes himself
as a hypocrite and an unaware man honesty is another theme in the play as you cannot know yourself or have a healthy
relationship without it the more Nora lies and hides from the truth the more confused she becomes but Christine serves to unravel
the lies told the Torvald and the deeper lives of Nora's self-deception Christine's telling crog's dad to leave the letter that Torvald
must read it makes the truth inescapable for Nora with the exposure comes the opportunity to take her flight to freedom the old
adage the truth shall set you free rings particularly true by the end of the play.