Torvald Helmer Dominance

When you look at doll houses you see the perfect little family inside, the perfect little chairs, and the perfect little scene for what family life should be, but in the play “A Doll House” by Henrik Ibsen you see a different picture with the two main characters Torvald Helmer and Nora Helmer, who are husband and wife. At the beginning of the play the audience sees the first scene between Torvald and his wife about money; Torvald is depicted as a stereotypical man from the 19th Century. Torvald shows his dominance over his wife Nora, when he questions her about being out and spending money. Torvald is the manly man and he wants total control over everything that happens in his home, and he shows his dominance and control when he says, “[b]ut
He tells his wife that she cannot go around wasting money just because she feels the urge to buy something. He shows a deep distrust that Nora his wife, and mother of his children can handle having money on her when she is not beside him around town. Also, Torvald shows how he controls what Nora does when the subject of macaroons comes into play later in the scene. In the Helmer household Torvald has set rules, and one of the rules is that his wife, Nora, cannot eat any macaroons. In this part of the scene you see a conversation taking place between Nora and Torvald, but it is not like a husband to a wife it is a father to a daughter. Torvalds shows his control against Nora which suggest that she has to obey whatever he says because there will be repercussions. Torvalds control over Nora makes her hide things. Torvald shows this male dominance and control when he questions her stating, “(shaking an admonitory finger): [s]urely my sweet tooth hasn’t been running riot in town today, has she” (1.1253)? This question shows how he needs to know what she has been doing when she is not with him. Torvald in the first scene is depicted as a dominant and controlling husband, but Nora is depicted as a repressed and immoral
When Nora finished her Christmas shopping she came into her house and hurried to see her husband to show him what she had bought. When Nora got to Torvald the reading audience can see that Nora is repressed in her home because she answers to her pet name squirrel with a simple, “yes” (1.1251). This simple word means a lot to the reading audience because it shows that Nora is repressed into not even being called her real name, but she is repressed to being called a squirrel. Furthermore, Nora is not quite innocent as in when her moral credibility comes into play. After their discussion about money Torvald starts to question Nora about macaroons, something he has forbidden in their house. When Nora first enters the house she stuffs a bag of macaroons in coat pocket and wipes her mouth of all crumbs, but when Torvald asks her about if she has eaten any she simply replies, “(going to the table): [y]ou know I could never think of going against you” (1.1253). This shows a hint to the morality of Nora, because when being asked about macaroons she shy’s away then gives a response around the question without saying yes or no. The reading audience sees and knows all that the other characters do not know, and the number one question to readers is if she hides that she has had