At the start of the play, Nora’s image is misleading and she appears to depend on Torvald for everything. She is seen as an unintelligent and immature woman. She uses manipulative language to get what she wants from Torvald. She addresses herself as a “skylark” and a “squirrel” like how Torvald calls her. She does this to persuade him to give her money. “Haven’t any idea how many expenses we skylarks and squirrels have, Torvald”. Nora also uses non verbal language to persuade Torvald to giving her what she wants:
“Nora [playing with his coat buttons, and without raising her eyes to his]. If you really want to give me something, you might--you might—“
“Nora [looks at him for a moment]. For shame! [Hits him lightly on the ear with the stockings.] That's to punish you. [Folds them up again.]”
These quotations shows how Nora has to use her sexuality to get what she wants.
This quote from the play is when Nora is asking Torvald for money and feels as though she has to put on flirtatious behaviour to get what she wants. This illustrates that Nora is not independent at this point in the play because she can’t get or do what she wants by herself.
Later on in the play we find out that Nora has borrowed money from Krogstad to save Torvald’s life, it is then the audience realises that Nora can do things for herself and doesn’t need Torvald for money. Her image is changed into an independent woman.
When Torvald finds out that Nora borrowed the money off Krogstad, he is angry and upset at Nora. Torvald makes such a big deal of this because in the 19th century women were not allowed to borrow money without their husband’s permission. Also, Torvald can’t stand to let any dependence on his wife be shown.
At the end of the play, for the first time Nora shows her full independence, and she expresses her opinions to Torvald. She realises things such as, she’s never had a proper conversation with her husband until then. She also says that she cannot believe that she let herself stay so dependent on him for so long. Nora speaks to Torvald as an independent person, this is a pivotal moment in the play because its where the audience see’s how much Nora has changed throughout the play.
Ibsen’s view of independence in the 19th century is apparent, he appears to think that women should have had more independence, and they should have been able to think and do things for themselves.
“A Dolls House” shows that the true desires of the genders really are. Men appear to want, a wife who are dependent on them, a good job, and a high social position. At the start of the play, Nora gives the impression that women want a family, and money to spend. At the end of the play Nora gives a true insight in what women wanted. Nora shows that women wanted more than family and money, they wanted to be independent, be themselves and do whatever they wanted to do.
The idea of the “doll” symbol which is dominant, also adds more to the meaning of the play. “Dolls” have no independence whatsoever; they are just the toy of the owner. In this play, the “doll” is a metaphor of Nora. In the first half of the play, the reader just sees Nora as the wife of Torvald who is dependent on him for everything. Nora has no independence until she leaves her family at the very end of the play. She has been a doll, a possession without independence or equality.
Torvald and Nora’s whole relationship is based on her being dependent on him. As soon as it was realised by Torvald that she had borrowed money by herself and saved his life, their relationship wasn’t the same and Nora ended up walking out because she wanted to be independent. The whole play is about Nora struggling for, and then finally gaining her independence.
