A Doll's House

Nora’s husband Torvald is, on the outside, the picture of competent masculinity. Newly promoted to bank manager, he takes a masterly pleasure in deciding other people’s fates. He especially enjoys being his wife’s protector, doling out little treats and sternly refusing her pocket money by turns. But when he finds that his reputation is in danger, he’s quick to give up his protective posture to preserve his own social standing. Torvald’s falsity, like Nora’s silliness, is a condemnation of sexist standards; his blustery performance of masculinity conceals a deep moral cowardice.

Kristine, Nora’s old school friend, has lived a difficult life. In relinquishing her love for Krogstad in favor of a pragmatic marriage to a rich man, she sacrifices her own happiness to protect others. When she returns to Krogstad at the end of the play, there’s some question as to whether she’s doing the same thing again. She may genuinely love Krogstad, but she mostly seems excited to have someone else to take care of.

Krogstad is a man driven to desperation by a broken heart—or so he says. But he’s also genuinely cruel, blackmailing Nora and tormenting her with macabre visions of her own drowned body. While he claims to be a reformed man when Kristine returns to him, there’s some suggestion that this reformation may not last. Like Torvald, Krogstad’s “love” seems more egotistical than sincere.