Sheila Sealey Eng 125 2/27/2012 Which characters change in the course of the play?

Consider one dynamic character and examine the causes and effects of the change. Also consider how characters act as foils. In the beginning of A Dolls House, Nora appears to be completely happy. She does not seem to mind her doll-like existence, in which she is coddled, pampered, and patronized. As the play evolves, Nora reveals that she is not just a silly girl, as Torvald calls her. Nora understands fully the details business since she incurred a debt she by taking out a loan to try and save Torvald from his health conditions. This alone signifies that she is clever and possesses abilities beyond mere wifehood. Her description of her years of secret labor undertaken to pay off her debt shows her fierce determination and ambition. Additionally, the fact that she was willing to break the law in order to ensure Torvalds health shows her courage. In Act One, Mrs. Linde describes Nora as a child. Is this assessment of Noras state of development valid? Use evidence to support your point. I do not believe Mrs. Linde knows fully who Nora is and she has endured, though Nora may carry herself in a child-like manner she is fully aware of her role. Nora knows that to please her husband and to maintain a happy home she must feed into her husbands desires of her being a needy wife. Through-out the paly Nora knows exactly how to play on her husband. While meeting with Krogstad in the living room she asks him to speak quietly so that her husband does not hear. Yet, when her husband appears she quickly returns to the needy doting wife.

What does Torvalds fascination with beauty and appearances imply about his personality? Do his attitudes change during the course of the play? Torvalds fascination show that he is very concerned with how and what others think of him as a man. He must a doting wife that he can show off as he does when they attend the dance and insists on Nora dancing for everyone. When he finds out about Noras deceit he disowns her as his wife and says she is not fit to be a care giver to their children. When all is forgiven by Krogstad he then says he did not mean. I think Torvald is a needy man himself when he realizes Nora is leaving him HE is the one who is in dismay. Explain the significance of the title of the play. Nora appears to be doll trapped in her own house. She is inhibited by a husband who expects her to fulfill her wifely and motherly roles under strict guidelines of morality and appearance, Nora soon discovers she has a will of her own. Ultimately, realizing there is only one path that leads to her true identity, and that path begins outside the doll house she now lives in. This is all explained in detail at the end of Act Three by Nora and Torvald in their last conversation. Why does Torvald Constantly reprimand Nora for her wastefulness and foolishness while simultaneously supporting her behavior? What insight does this contradiction give the audience into Torvald and Noras relationship? Torvald recognizes Nora as a silly woman who is oblivious of the way society works, but he adores Noras silliness and inexperience because they render her helpless and therefore dependent on him. It soon becomes clear to us that Noras dependence, not Torvalds love for Nora as a person, forms the foundation of Torvalds affection for her. In Act One, Torvald teases Nora about wasting money but then tries to please her by graciously giving her more. Similarly, he points out her faults but then says he doesnt want her to change. He clearly enjoys keeping Nora in a position where she depends solely on him, even if it means that she remains silly. In general, Torvald dislikes of any kind of change in Noras constant, obedient demeanor because he needs to control her behavior. When Nora begins to dance the tarantella wildly in Act Two, he is unsettled. In Act One, Nora says

that it would humiliate Torvald if he knew he was secretly in debt to her for his life, indicating that Torvald wants the power in his marriage to be one-sided rather than mutual. He is quite controlling however we find out that he is the one who feels powerless at the end. Who is the play's antagonist? Explain. Krogstad is the antagonist in A Dolls House, but he is not necessarily a villain. Though he allows Nora to be tormented is cruel, Krogstad he is not without sympathy. As he says, Even money-lenders, hacks, well, a man like me, can have a little of what you call feeling, you know. He visits Nora to check on her, and he discourages her from committing suicide. Krogstad has understandable motives for acting as he does: he wants to keep his job at the bank to spare his children from the hardships. Unlike Torvald, who desires respect for selfish reasons, Krogstad desires it for his familys sake. Nora and Krogstad are a lot alike having been wronged by society, as well both committed the same crime: forgery of signatures. Though he did break the law, Krogstads crime was relatively minor, but society has saddled him with the stigma of being a criminal and prohibited him from moving beyond his past. Additionally, Krogstads claim that his immoral behavior began when Mrs. Linde abandoned him for a man with money so she could provide for her family makes it possible for us to understand Krogstad as a victim of circumstances. One could argue that society forced Mrs. Linde away from Krogstad and thus prompted his crime. Though societys unfair treatment of Krogstad does not justify his actions, it does align him more closely with Nora and therefore tempers our perception of him as a despicable character. Examine how language reveals the relationship between Nora and Torvald. It seems as though Nora and Torvald are living more of a fantasy marriage then that of real love and commitment. As Nora thinks her husband loves her unconditionally and Torvald was in love with the idea of Nora needing and depending solely on him. Yet he was with a doubt in love with her looks.

 Compare and contrast Mrs. Linde and Nora at the end of the play. By the end of the play, Nora and Mrs. Linde have switched roles. Nora, choosing to abandon family (husband and children) to find her own identity, while Mrs. Linde, has chosen to abandon her independence to marry her first love (Krogstad) and taking on the role of wife as well as mother to his children. Despite their apparent antagonism, both Noras and Mrs. Lindes decisions allow them to fulfill their respective personal desires. They have both chosen their own fates, freely and without male influence. Ibsen seems to feel that the nature of their choices is not as important as the fact that both women make the choices themselves