A Doll's House

At first, Nora believes that the true meaning of being “free” is not what she considers it to be later in the play. By telling Ms. Linde “Free. To be free, absolutely free. To spend time playing with the children. To have a clean, beautiful house, the way Torvald likes it,” (1226).  In this quotation from her conversation with Mrs. Linde in Act One, Nora claims that she will be “free” after the New Year, after she has paid off her debt to Krogstad. While describing her anticipated freedom, Nora highlights the very factors that constrain her. She claims that freedom will give her time to be a mother and a traditional wife who maintains a beautiful home, as her husband likes it. But the message of the play is that Nora cannot find true freedom in this traditional life. As the play continues, Nora becomes increasingly aware that she must change her life to find true freedom, and her understanding of the word “free” evolves accordingly. By the end of the play, she sees that freedom entails independence from societal constraints and the ability to explore her own personality, goals, and beliefs. This is triggered by Nora’s sudden realization that Torvald is not who he seems to be. She used to see him as this noble man, but once he refuses to protect her back against a bad reputation, Nora realizes that she is not happy with him and their marriage. This leads her to further seek an independent life as a woman. In Act three, at the end Nora states, “I have been performing tricks for you, Torvald. That’s how I’ve survived. You wanted it like that. You and Papa have done me a great wrong. It’s because of you I’ve made nothing of my life,” (1230). Nora speaks these words, which express the truth that she has gleaned about her marriage, Torvald’s character, and her life in general, to Torvald at the end of Act Three. She recognizes that her life has been largely a performance. She has acted the part of the happy, child-like wife for Torvald and, before that, she acted the part of the happy, child-like daughter for her father. She now sees that her father and Torvald compelled her to behave in a certain way and understands it to be “great wrong” that stunted her development as an adult and as a human being. She has made “nothing” of her life because she has existed only to please men. Following this -realization, Nora leaves Torvald in order to make something of her life and for the first time to exist as a person independent of other people. She shuts the door as a symbol of giving up on the “fantasy” world that she used to live in with Torvald and she seeks out to find her true self in the “real” world.