A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen - Assignment Example

Nora finds it difficult to accept that her forgery is considered a crime and asks Krogstad, “Is a daughter not to be allowed to spare her dying father anxiety and care? Is a wife not to be allowed to save her husband's life?” (Ibsen, Act I). Nora becomes the desperate woman of Act 11 who considers suicide as the way out of her difficult situation of blackmail.

            In Act III, Nora again changes when she realizes that Helmer’s promise to her - “You will see I am man enough to take everything upon myself” (Ibsen, Act II), is just empty words.  Once she understands that Helmer is not willing to sacrifice his social position and honor for her sake, and his social standing is more important to him than his wife, Nora becomes a woman who decides to fulfill first and foremost her “duties to me” (Ibsen, Act III). She is now a woman in search of self-realization.