I know this isn't much but here's a little food for thought that I came across while working on my mid-term paper doing a character analysis of Nora Helmer.
Nora Helmer is a daughter, wife, mother and friend. She represents all of these roles placed on her by society within the confines of not only “A Doll’s House”, but solely in her own house during the play. In this character analysis I will look at the roles played by Nora and how gender relations and ideals affect her outlook on others and their view of her.
The play focuses on the way women are seen, especially in the context of marriage and motherhood. Torvald, in particular, has a very clear and narrow definition of a woman’s role. He believes that it is the sacred duty of a woman to be a good wife and mother. He also tells Nora that women are responsible for the morality of their kids. In essence, he sees women as both child-like, helpless creatures detached from reality and influential moral forces responsible for the purity of the world through their influence in the home.
The perception of manliness is also discussed, though in a much more subtle way. Nora’s description of Torvald suggests that she is partially aware of the lies inherent in the male role as much as that of the female. Torvald’s conception of manliness is based on the value of total independence. His desire of independence leads tot eh question of whether he is out of touch with reality.
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I agree with you on your analysis of Torvald. I found it very interesting the way Ibsen created Torvald. Torvald was a domineering man who was the head of the house. In biblical scriptures it states that man is to rule over animals. Torvald, throughout the play, is constantly giving animal pet names to Nora, showing his dominance over her. Nora, sadly, responds positively to the pet names. The way these two characters were created may be speaking to the idea of how the roles in a marriage shouldn't be: one man dominating a woman.
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