A Doll’s House.

        No one person can go into another persons mind. No one person can understand exactly how another person feels. Because of this reality, it is not fair for anyone to judge another persons actions. One cannot decide whether someone else’s actions are justified or not. That onus is on the individual themselves. Nora feels her actions are justified, she does not need anyone telling her otherwise. She follows her heart, doing what she needs to do. She understands that the search for truth in ones life requires one hundred percent devotion. When Torvald tells her “You don’t understand the conditions of the world you live” she replies by saying “No, I don’t. But now I am going to try. I am going to see if I can make out who is right, the world or I.” It is for this reason that Nora undertakes such a radical action to see the truth.

        When Nora leaves she is freed from all the obligations her husband and society in general puts on her. She says to Torvald “when a wife deserts her husband’s house, as I am doing now, he is legally freed from all obligations towards her. In any case I set you free from your obligations. You are not to feel yourself bound in the slightest way, any more then I shall. There must be perfect freedom on both sides.” This freedom from her obligations allows Nora to gain absolute freedom in life, and more importantly the ability to be responsible for herself alone.

        Mrs. Linde’s character shows us what happens when someone is not primarily responsible for themselves. She married a rich man in order to take care of her family. In doing so she lost a great deal in her life, often expressing how unhappy she was in marriage. She acted out of obligation to her family instead of obligation to herself. In the end she explains to Krogstad how she regretted her decision to leave him. Mrs. Linde demonstrates the consequences of not acting true to oneself. Fortunately for Nora, due to her decision to leave, she did not have to face these consequences.

        When Nora decided to leave her family in order to discover not only the truth, but  herself, she forgot about her obligation to others and worried about no one else. Nora’s decision to leave was utterly justifiable. She realizes that her primary duty is to herself and she acts on it.  After Nora’s epiphany she takes radical, but at the same time just actions, however, the whole time remaining in accordance with herself. Mrs. Linde said “a woman who has once sold herself once for another’s sake, doesn’t do it a second time.” How fortunate are those woman like Nora, who do not have to sell themselves once to realize this?