Perhaps more importantly, Nora is quite candid about her understanding of all this, telling him flatly that she knows
The extent of Torvald’s investment in a fantasy world and the importance of his false characterization of Nora are revealed when he describes how, at parties, he pretends not to know her so that he may seduce her all over again. If she did not know before, she knows now. She is no longer willing to be an object or an agent of fantasy. If there is one thing she now knows, it is the difference between fantasy and reality.
She considered this an appropriate choice insofar as she thought that he would willingly give his life for hers when necessary
This is a very recent development. She apparently has recently tried to pick the lock of Torvald’s letter-box with one of her hairpins. In that effort she seems to have preferred the status quo, keeping the secret a bit longer. Perhaps Krogstad could be appeased and the secret could be held forever. But the effort failed, and Nora has had to accept the reality that she is not herself. The costume of the Neapolitan fisher-girl, with which she entered the scene, is a clear symbol of her own unreality. When she later changes into a plain black dress, we realize that she has shifted to a final acknowledgment of her new chance at an individual identity, free of Torvald.
It is important to notice that Nora’s time at the party has been the first time that she has left the confines of the one room in the entire play. She is not far away, however. At this point, she has to be dragged back in. This is not merely an attempt to delay the reading of the letter; she longs to stay off the stage, to stay away from the doll’s house where Torvald controls her. She would rather be in the delirium of the tarantella. She sees that a major element of the problem in their relationship is Torvald’s desire to have Nora entertain him, so she is eager to try her luck in the real world and make her own choices. (more…)