A doll's house by Henrik Ibsen

¶ … Doll's House

Nora's Decision to Leave Torvald: The Realization of a Doll

At the end of A Doll's House, Nora's decision to leave Torvald is based on how quickly he goes from articulating his disdain toward her to brushing that disdain off as a joke. Feeling as if she has recognized his true feelings toward her, Nora's decision to leave may be rash, but is well founded in her experiences up until that point. At the end of A Doll's House, Nora finally sees that Torvald is a copy of her father, Krogstad, and every other male that she has encountered until now. Each sees her as a doll that can push her around, manipulate her, and get her to do exactly what they want her to do. They see her as a doll that can be played with and then put back in its little house -- safe and secure -- at the end of playtime. Even Mrs. Linde treats her as a doll by insisting that Krogstad not get his letter back because she claims to know what is best for Nora. At the end of the play, I think Nora realizes that she has been treated like a doll and has allowed this to happen. She and her husband do not have a relationship in which they can talk. She has to hide the fact that she borrowed money from Krogstad from Torvald, and has cared deeply about what Torvald would think if he should find out. She allows Krogstad to blackmail her. At the end of the play, I believe she is tired of sneaking around and trying to make everyone happy. She leaves because she does not want to be a doll any longer; she wants to live a life in which her appearance is not always the most important thing about her. Of course, the only thing that matters about a doll is its appearance. Until the end of the play, this has been true for Nora as well. Krogstad threatens her appearance with the blackmail; Torvald is enticed by her appearance when she dances; and Torvald is only angry about the fact that she borrowed money when it will make her (and them) look bad. Thus, Nora's decision to leave may be rash, in that she could probably work these issues out by discussing them with Torvald, but it is motivated by her own self-discovery,