Nora says that if they're ever to be more than strangers "the most wonderful thing of all would have to happen," that their "life together would be a real wedlock" (3.376).
What is the “wonderful thing” that Nora believes will happen? Nora believes that once Torvald finds out about the loan and the forgery, he will sacrifice his own reputation in order to save hers.
Nora does not want Mrs. Linde to stop anything because it is a wonderful joy to wait for the miracle.
The main message of A Doll's House seems to be that a true (read: good) marriage is a joining of equals. The play centers on the dissolution of a marriage that doesn't meet these standards.
Nora is by far the most interesting character in the play. Many critics have pointed out that such an immature, ignorant creature could never have attained the understanding and revolutionary qualities that Nora has at the time she leaves her home.
In his confession, Dr. Rank reveals his love for Nora to be more honest and real, as the emotion evolved while actually spending time with her.
In A Doll's House, by Henrik Ibsen, many characters could be put through the rigors of an examination based on Aristotle's qualifications. According to Aristotle, Nora Helmer, the play's protagonist, is a tragic hero, because her character traits are perfect examples of what contributes to a tragic hero.
The first instance of female sacrifice is seen in Act 1 through the interaction between Torvald and Nora, where Nora sacrifices her opinions and desires to satisfy her husband. Nora puts on a submissive façade, whose characteristics are similar to a child.
Both Helmer and Rank use the metaphor of corrupt behaviour as moral sickness. For Helmer its source is the home, and the sickness invariably spreads. He lectures Nora about 'mothers who are constitutional liars', who infect their children with 'the germs of evil' (Act One, p. 53), reinforcing the work of heredity.
Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House ends with an infamous door slam. Nora Helmer, a housewife in Norway, leaves her husband, Torvald Helmer, in a dramatic exit that rocked audiences when the play debuted in Copenhagen in 1879 and continues to divide viewers today.
She realizes that her husband does not see her as a person but rather as a beautiful possession, nothing more than a toy.
“The most wonderful thing” then, would be for Torvald to be able to see Nora as she really is—as a human being that is smart and capable. Nora suggests that this is nearly impossible, that Torvald cannot change. Ibsen leaves that up to the audience, as this last line implies that Torvald might be willing to change.
Linde comments that Nora is still a child because she has known no hardship in her life. Nora becomes indignant and says that she too has “something to be proud and happy about.” She goes on to tell Mrs. Linde that she saved her husband's life when he was sick.
Nora tells him that she'd only come back if the most wonderful thing of all were to happen: that instead of just living together they had a true marriage. She exits. Torvald laments the emptiness of the room.
What secret has Nora been keeping from Torvald? She was in love with his brother before she married him.
After Krogstad rescinds his blackmail threat and returns the loan document with the signature Nora forged, Torvald is relieved and tells Nora he forgives her. However, Torvald uses his forgiveness as an additional means of objectifying and controlling Nora by saying he now owns her doubly.
The doll's house itself is a symbol of the Burnell family's societal position. When it is brought into the Burnell courtyard, it becomes, literally, a house within a house, a mirror of the Burnell's home.
Throughout the book, Ibsen gives the audience clues to piece together that Torvald and Nora's marriage is not one founded on love. The most important instances of dramatic irony in A Doll House are the relationship between Krogstad and Mrs. Linde, Dr. Rank's love for Nora, and Nora's lies to Torvald.
Essays What Does the Ending Mean? At the end of A Doll's House, Nora makes the ultimate assertion of her agency and independence by walking out on her husband and her children in order to truly understand herself and learn about the world.
Torvald Helmer
Nora's husband. Torvald delights in his new position at the bank, just as he delights in his position of authority as a husband.
In Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House, Nora Helmer spends most of her on-stage time as a doll: a vapid, passive character with little personality of her own. Her whole life is a construct of societal norms and the expectations of others.
Krogstad is the antagonist in A Doll's House, but he is not necessarily a villain. Though his willingness to allow Nora's torment to continue is cruel, Krogstad is not without sympathy for her.
Linde becomes more pivotal. It turns out that she long ago had a romantic tryst with Nils Krogstad, the man attempting to blackmail Nora. She rekindles their relationship and inspires Krogstad to amend his wicked ways.
The play, by Henrik Ibsen, is a scathing criticism of the traditional roles of men and women in Victorian marriage. The main character is a woman named Nora. Just before the scene opens, a former employee of her husband, Torvald Helmer, has threatened to blackmail Nora.