ADH Act 2 quotes

Question 2

dishevelled

Answer 2

*The chistmas tree… stripped of its ornaments and with burnt-down candle-ends on its dishevelled branches

Nora has been laid bare like this tree has been. Christmas tree represents family life, now bare, it could symbolise the stripping of her family life.

Candles traditionally represent light and hope
->absence of light shows an absence of hope Nora has

Question 3

impossible

Answer 3

Such a thing couldn’t happen; it is impossible–I have three little children.

nora - naivety

Question 4

thousand

Answer 4

Nora
I should like to tear it into a hundred thousand pieces.

This clearly shows Nora’s frustration and fear after Krogstad’s visit. The verb “tear” suggests violence and foreshadows her later thoughts for suicide. Nora’s less stereotypical feminine side is suggested and this is the turning point in which she starts to unconsciously express her bitterness. Further, the dress she wants to rips can be seen as a symbol of how Nora is only meant to be admired. To rip it, she is deliberately trying to escape Torvald’s restrictions.

Question 5

altogether

Answer 5

Do you think they would forget their mother if she went away altogether? nora

Question 6

wicked

Answer 6

A poor girl who has got into trouble should be glad to. Besides, that wicked man didn’t do a single thing for me. - nurse

pregnant outside of wedlock

Question 7

no other mother

Answer 7

Little Nora, poor dear, had no other mother but me.

nurse - nora lack of maternal figure

Question 8

i am sure

Answer 8

And if my little ones had no other mother, I am sure you would–

nora, suicide or leaving

Question 9

screams

Answer 9

Out of my thoughts, out of my thoughts! One, two, three, four, five, six– [Screams.] Ah! there is someone coming–. [Makes a movement towards the door, but stands irresolute.]

nora losing control, paranoia

Question 10

Tarantella

Answer 10

Torvald wants me to go as a Neapolitan fisher-girl, and dance the Tarantella

Ensuring his own societal superiority? Continues the idea of Torvald treating her as a ‘pet’. He wants to display her as a trophy.

Torvald treats his wife as a public display but only when he pleases.

Question 11

fond

Answer 11

absurdly fond of me that he wants me absolutely to himself

extremely possessive husband. Chipping away at her identity, very toxic but Nora makes it sound nice. Mentally abusive. nora

Question 12

older

Answer 12

You are still very like a child in many things, and I am older than you in many ways

christine

Question 13

nice

Answer 13

Nice?–because you do as your husband wishes?

torvald - to do as expected

Question 14

quill

Answer 14

Isn’t it an insult to think that I should be afraid of a starving quill-driver’s vengeance?

torvald

Question 15

rotting

Answer 15

Probably within a month I shall lie rotting in the churchyard.

dr rank

Question 16

amusements

Answer 16

My poor innocent spine has to suffer for my father’s youthful amusements.

victorian fear of stds - dr rank

Answer 17

tomorrow you will see how beautifully I shall dance, and you can imagine I am doing it all for you–and for Torvald too, of course.

nora - By saying this to Dr Rank, Nora shows a disregard for the boundaries of marriage and a delight in flaunting her femininity. Nora’s flirtatious behavior shows her ability to manipulate those around her and readers realize how she is not as innocent as she pretends to be.

Question 18

legs

Answer 18

you may have leave to look at the legs too.

nora

Question 19

sake

Answer 19

The only one who would gladly give his life for your sake.

dr rank

Question 20

horrid

Answer 20

To have loved you as much as anyone else does? Was that horrid?

rank

Question 21

anything

Answer 21

I can’t tell you anything now.

Nora’s manner of speaking in a self contradictory way becomes more obvious. She is first flirtatious with Dr Rank, asking him for a favor but then claims she cannot tell him anything. Nora seems upset and offended by Dr Rank’s confession of love for her, suggesting her disappointment when realizing she was just another doll in another man’s life.

Question 22

entertaining

Answer 22

But I always thought it tremendous fun if I could steal down into the maids’ room, because they never moralised at all, and talked to each other about such entertaining things.

This shows the expectations for women and the constraint for Nora. She is only able to gain freedom by talking to others.

Question 23

papa

Answer 23

IRank see–it is their place I have taken.

    Nora [jumping up and going to him]. Oh, dear, nice Doctor Rank, I never meant that at all. But surely you can understand that being with Torvald is a little like being with papa--[Enter MAID from the hall.]

Misunderstanding of love? Also, it shows she is a dutiful daughter and wife

Question 24

helen

Answer 24

Helen, you mustn’t say anything about it to anyone.

Nora is trying to conceal Krogstad’s visit, thus reinforcing how the theme of deceit is presented constantly at this point in the play. She must cover her tracts in front of everyone – even the maid – increasing her isolation and Nora’s desperation in keeping the truth from Torvald is apparent.

Answer 25

He is wearing a fur coat, high boots and a fur cap.]

abt krogstad after dismissal, animals - disease

Question 26

rehabilitate

Answer 26

I want to rehabilitate myself…. For the last year and a half I have not had a hand in anything dishonourable, - krogstad

blaming Nora for setting him back

Question 27

unrecognisable

Answer 27

And then, in the spring, to float up to the surface, all horrible and unrecognisable, with your hair fallen out–

krogtsad mocking her suicidalness

Question 28

courage

Answer 28

Most of us think of that at first. I did, too–but I hadn’t the courage.

krogstad - suicide

Question 29

gladly

Answer 29

There was a time when he would gladly do anything for my sake.

ms linde

Question 30

tambourine

Answer 30

[laughing and swining the tambourine]

The Tarantella symbolizes Nora’s last attempts at being Torvald’s doll. The dance is a way she can release her wildest emotions and momentarily cast off her display of composure and respectability in a way that is still considered appropriate to the society

Question 31

the dance

Answer 31

[RANK sits down at the piano and plays. NORA dances more and more wildly. HELMER has taken up a position beside the stove, and during her dance gives her frequent instructions. She does not seem to hear him; her hair comes down and falls over her shoulders; she pays no attention to it, but goes on dancing. Enter Mrs Linde.]

rank - patriarchy, stove - domestic sphere, dancing wildly - freedom

Question 32

forgotten

Answer 32

You have forgotten everything I taught you.

torvald after tarentella

Question 33

lots, just

Answer 33

Yes, a champagne banquet until the small hours. [Calls out.] And a few macaroons, Helen–lots, just for once! - nora

Despite knowing Torvald’s distaste for macaroons, Nora’s love for the sweets overcomes her self-control. This shows that she is unwilling to keep going along with Torvald’s strict rules and she no longer desires to be like a dependant child. The final scene where Nora leaves is foreshadowed.

Question 34

31

Answer 34

Thirty-one hours to live.

this is a build up to the final part of the play. Nora’s words foreshadow the great shift in her internal and external circumstances that will come the next day and she is now not afraid to face the inevitable. She has resigned to Krogstad’s letter and she is embracing the destruction of her life.