Gender and Power

Question 1

“No man sacrifices his honour for the one he loves”

Answer 1

• Torvald
• Serves as an exploration of the strict 19th century gender roles
• Torvald’s belief that his role as the breadwinner gives him moral superiority over Nora
• Displays the male obsession over societal status

Question 2

“A man with a thing like that on his conscience will always be having to lie cheat and dissemble”

Answer 2

-Torvald
- Discussing Krogstad’s reputation
- Ironic as the motivations behind Krogstad’s actions were positive however Torvald views them as immoral as they go against societal norms

Question 3

“You’re a wife, a mother. They come first.”

Answer 3

• Torvald
• Epitomises the patriarchal views on a woman’s role in the home
• Torvald views Nora as an essential part of the family not due to his love for her, but so she can assume her position in the domestic sphere and complete the nuclear family

Question 4

“Clapping her hands”

Answer 4

• Nora
• As a female in act 1 she is stripped of her power and reduced to a childlike figure
• Reflective of the amount of power held by women in the 19th century society

Question 5

“To leave your home, your husband, your children!”

Answer 5

• Torvald
• Torvald is ultimately worried about how society will look down on him if his marriage falls apart
• Lists the only roles set out for women within society at that time, anything opposing that was deemed wrong and shunned