Nora
Nora in Act One is portrayed to be a stereotypical wife that
obeys her husband completely. The obedience that is expected from the society
is shown through how Torvald addresses Nora as “little pet”. The diction of
“little” suggests that Torvald (men) views Nora (women) as his possession only
which is similar to how people treat a “pet”. The diction of “pet” also brings
down the human values of a woman. It supports the idea that woman is considered
to be a childish creature within the society. Moreover, the whole Act One acts
as dramatic irony as Nora is constantly lying to Torvald which creates a twist
within stereotypical theatre of romanticism. This serves as a way to introduce
realism- imperfect human figures which also shocks the audience.
Torvald
It is revealed through the conversation between Kristine and
Nora that he used to be sick and with the help of Nora, he could get better and
now can have a proper job in the bank. This suggests Ibsen’s intention of showing
the usefulness of women within society. However, men are never aware and always
underestimate women since Torvald never respects Nora but constantly calls her
“little”. He has very strict rules for his wife so that she is kept in order
and wisely such as how he does not allow Nora to eat macaroons since she will
gain weight. However, this is also another dramatic irony as audience knows
that Nora breaks the rule but in Torvald’s eyes, she is just as innocent. This
foreshadows an ending full of dramatic tension when the secrets of Nora are
revealed.
Kristine
During the conversation between Nora and herself, she speaks
much less than Nora and serves as a mean of confrontation for Nora since both
of them have their own miseries of women. This shows that Kristine is a
preserved woman. The cause of this may be due to her husband’s death that she
had now become a widow while women are expected to be only responsible for
nurturing their children as a housewife. The suffering of her husband’s left
without any children and the eyes of the publicity looking down at her, could
have made her more introvert.
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