Henrick Ibsen’s “A Doll House” includes a family whose feelings are left up to interpretation of the reader. One of the questions readers often ask themselves about the play is if Torvald is in love with Nora, and if Nora is in love with Torvald.
To gain the answers to these questions, one must first identify what their ideas of love in a marriage are. My own ideals include respect, thoughtfulness, and appreciation.
Based on my ideas about love and marriage, I have come to the conclusion that Nora was in love with Torvald in the 1st Act, but not in the 3rd, and he was never in love with her. What led me to these opinions was an examination of the text and the actions of the characters.
In act 1, Torvald is observed to treat Nora like a child. “Surely my sweet tooth (Nora) hasn’t been running riot in town today, has she (Ibsen, 861)?” “My sweet tooth really didn’t make a little detour through the confectioners (Ibsen, 861)?” The fact that Torvald monitors Nora’s intake of sweets presents us with the idea that he does not expect her to be able to make decisions for herself – that she needs him to guide her. This situation, to me, shows a lack of respect on Torvald’s part.
In a later conversation with Mrs. Linde, Nora also states “You’re just like the others. You all think I’m incapable of anything serious” (Ibsen, 865). Again, pointing out that there is a lack of respect. In this conversation, though, Nora also sheds light on her love for Torvald. She convinces Mrs. Linde that she is capable of handling serious matters when she confesses that she had borrowed money in order for her and her husband to move south to save his life. “Papa didn’t give us a pin. I was the one who raised the money” (Ibsen, 866). We find out that she borrowed the money from Krogstad with a forged signature from her father, who had died two days prior to her signing the paper. The fact that Nora was willing to enter into such a dangerous venture on behalf of her husband so that he might live is proof of her love for him.
While Nora may have loved her husband, it is clear in the 3rd act that he does not truly love her. When Torvald thought Krogstad was going to expose the situation he was infuriated with Nora. “Now you’ve wrecked all my happiness – ruined my whole future… can you see now what you’ve done to me?!” (Ibsen, 904). He doesn’t acknowledge, or appreciate Nora’s attempt to save his life, he only reprimands her. He even threatens that she will never see her children again that they may not be inflicted with her lying nature. It is not until he reads the end of the letter and realizes that Krogstad was taking no such action that he changes his mind and compliments Nora for loving him so.
The series of events that occur in the play reveal the differences in feelings that Nora and Torvald have for one another. While Nora cares for, admires, and respects Torvald, Torvald seems to view Nora as incompetent, and a form of entertainment. When the time came for Nora to prove her love, she did. But, when the time came for Torvald to prove his devotion to Nora, he failed. This absence of true love, or a “real marriage” resulted in Nora’s departure.
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