Nora Helmer

Nora is the "doll" wife of Torvald. She is sensitive, sensible, and completely unaware of her own worth until the last act of the play. She initially appears flighty and excitable. Nora is most con- cerned with charming her husband and being the perfect wife, she is also secretive and hides her thoughts and actions from her husband even when there is no real benefit in doing so. Rather, decep tion appears to be almost a habit for Nora. Her husband constantly refers to her with pet names, such as "singing lark." "little squirrel." and "little spenchhrift. He pats her on the head much as one would a favorite puppy. She forges her father's signature on a loan, lies to her husband about the source of the money, lies about how she spends the household accounts, and lies about odd jobs she takes to earn extra money. She is viewed as an object, a toy, a child, but never an equal. Her problem is that she is totally dependent upon her husband for all her needs; or she deceives herself into thinking so until the end of the play.