Nora and Torvald are trapped in a failing marriage. They put on a useful image for everyone on the outside, that they're happy as a couple. But Nora is very unhappy, which she tries to push to the side until she can't anymore. (If I were married to Torvald, I would be super unhappy, too.) Her father and her husband both treat her as a doll, someone to use as they wish without regard for her wants/well-being. She then ends up treating her children carelessly, repeating the cycle, making me have mixed feelings about her. She borrows money (shocking for a woman at the time to be able to do that on her own) and leaves the life making her unhappy (another shocking thing for a woman of the time to do). With these actions, she proves her agency. Keep walking, Nora.
18. MaiMay 18, 2025
A Doll's Houseby Henrik IbsenBloomsbury Academic


