"Cliff Notes - Doll's House, A" - читать интересную книгу автора (Cliff Notes)

put a premium on Torvald's good qualities?

Besides being Nora's weak and unsupportive husband, Torvald
represents a "type" of thought and behavior that contrasts with Nora
in several effective ways. He represents middle-class society and
its rules, while Nora represents the individual. He stands for the
world of men and "logical male thinking," while Nora's thinking is
more intuitive and sensitive. Can you think of other ways that
Torvald and Nora are compared?

In light of these comparisons, how would you interpret Torvald's
defeat at the end? Certainly at the play's start, Torvald appears to
be in command in contrast to Nora's weakness. But by the end of Act
Three their roles have been reversed: he is the weak one, begging
for another chance, and Nora has found strength. Does the author
mean to suggest that the ideas of male supremacy and middle-class
respectability were changing?


A DOLL'S HOUSE: DR. RANK

Dr. Rank is an old family friend, whose relationship to the Helmers
is deeper than it appears. He always visits with Torvald first, but
it is Nora he really comes to see. Both Rank and Nora prefer each
other's company to Torvald's.

Although Nora flirts with Rank and fantasizes about a rich gentleman
dying and leaving her everything, she never acknowledges her true
feelings--the attraction she feels for older, father-figures. Rank
at least is honest in declaring his love for Nora.

The doctor serves several important functions in the play. His
physical illness, inherited from his loose-living father, parallels
the "moral illness" shared by Krogstad and Nora. The hereditary
nature of Rank's disease, although it is never identified, suggests
the possibility of immorality passing from generation to generation.
Rank's concern with appearing normal despite his illness parallels
Torvald's concerns with maintaining the appearance of a normal
marriage after he discovers Nora's moral "disease."

Dr. Rank helps Nora on her journey to self-discovery. He forces her
to face the reality of his death, which prepares her for the death
of her marriage. He also forces her to look behind appearances to
see the romantic nature of her and Rank's relationship. Nora refuses
to deal with both of these issues in the second act, but by the
third act she and Rank are through with masquerades and are both
openly preparing to die. At the end, Rank realizes and accepts his
approaching death, while Nora realizes and accepts the death of her
marriage.