Nils Krogstad in Dolls House - Research Paper Example

of the of the Concerned 16 April A Doll’s House- Nils Krogstad Krogstad’s Threat to Nora Krogstad is the man responsible for creating a complication in Nora’s life and in bringing about a crisis in her relations with her husband. He is the man from whom Nora had borrowed the money in order to be able to take her ailing husband to a warm country in Southern Europe. Although he has been receiving regular installments from Nora in repayment of the loan, he has discovered that he can exercise strong influence on her, because with a lawyer’s sharp mind and sharp eye, he has found that Nora has forged her father’s signature on the I.O.U on which she has put down her own signature also in order to receive a loan from him. His Serious Moral Lapse in the Past When Krogstad was having an interview with Helmer, Doctor Rank expressed a most unfavorable opinion about the man to Nora and Mrs. Christine Linde to whom Doctor Rank has just been introduced. Doctor Rank had said that Krogstad was a case of “moral affliction” and that the man was “rotten to the core”. The Doctor said so because Krogstad had at one time been guilty of a serious moral lapse. In that context Mrs. Christine Lind also told Nora that Krogstad had at one time been a solicitor’s clerk in her native town and that he was most probably a widower now. Nora had confirmed that he was a widower with a large number of children. Krogstad’s Past Friendship with Helmer and his Past Love Affair with Christine Krogstad had been a boyhood friend of Helmer’s. When, therefore, Helmer is appointed the manager of the bank where Krogstad is working, Krogstad speaks to him in a familiar manner. Krogstad had thought that Helmer would show due regard for their past friendship. However, he feels disappointed when he finds Helmer to be quiet indifferent to him. Also, Krogstad and Christine were lovers in the past and expected to get married. However, Christine had been compelled by circumstances to marry somebody else. Krogstad had than been bitterly disappointed and disturbed. The two meet later on when Krogstad is a widower and Mrs. Lind a widow. A Letter Dropped by him into Helmer’s Letter-Box When Krogstad, contrary to his hope receives from Helmer the order of dismissal, from his post in the bank, he feels furious and meets Nora to make her intervene on his behalf with Helmer. He then tells her that he had been leading an upright life in order to make amends for his moral lapse in the past and his efforts to rebuild a good image of himself would receive a setback if her husband was to persist in his order of dismissal. He had therefore written a letter to Helmer informing him of Nora’s guilt of forging her father’s signatures, and telling him to withdraw his order of dismissal or face a public exposure of her wife’s guilt. Krogstad then drops that letter into Helmer’s letter-box. Ready to Accept Mrs. Linde’s Offer of Marriage When Mrs. Linde goes to meet Krogstad in order to persuade him to withdraw his incriminating letter which still lies in Helmer’s letter-box, the talk between them naturally turns to their past love affair. Mrs. Linde explains why she married a rich man and gave up Krogstad. Mrs. Lind then proposes marriage to him. Her offer to marry Krogstad turns out to be a windfall for him, an unexpected piece of good fortune, and he is overjoyed. However, he makes it a point to certify that Mrs. Linde genuinely want to marry him, irrespective of being aware of his questionable past, not merely to save her friend. His Repentance and his Second Letter When Mrs. Linde has assured him that she wishes to marry him for his sake, and even more for her sake, he offers to withdraw his letter containing his threat to Helmer to make a public disclosure of his wife’s criminal act of forgery. Thus there is a change of heart in Krogstad as soon as a piece of good fortune befalls him. Subsequently under the influence of the generous impulses which have risen in his heart on account of Mrs. Linde’s offer to marry him, he writes a letter of regret to Nora expressing his repentance over his previous letter which was addressed to Helmer. He also makes it clear that he had no intention to proceed against her legally, because his own circumstances have taken a lucky turn. Not an Evil-Minded Man Krogstad is by no means an evil-minded or wicked man. He is not essentially or inherently evil. It is true that he was at one time tempted to commit a criminal act, but subsequently he has sincerely been wishing to make amends for his wrong doing. In fact he was forced by the danger of dismissal from his post to adopt ungentlemanly methods in dealing with Nora. It is a fact that he had become bitter with Nora because of his feeling desperate and cornered at the possibility of him being dismissed. With Mrs. Linde’s offer of marriage to him, he subsequently softens and relents and gives up his viciousness. The Villain of the Piece in a Limited Sense Overall, Krogstad appears to be the villain of the piece. If he had not written a letter to Helmer exposing Nora’s act of forgery, there would have been no crisis in the life of Helmer and Nora. Even before writing that letter, Krogstad had created a storm in Nora’s life by extending to her the threat that he would disclose her secret. Nora had almost decided to commit suicide because of that threat. Therefore there is certainly a case for regarding him as a Villain. But, he is a villain who speedily reforms himself as soon as circumstances become favorable to him. Thus, though Krogstad is a villain of the piece, he is a villain in a limited sense (Feingold, 71). Also, he had already reformed himself by the end of the play. Works Cited Feingold, Michael. “Nora (A Doll’s House)”. The Village Voice. November 2004, pp. 71. Ibsen, Michael. A Doll’s House. Dover Publications: New York, 1998. Read More