DH3.Questions+11-15

11. What does Doctor Rank mean when he says he will be invisible at the next ball? When he says he will be invisible at the next ball, Doctor Rank is basically referring to his imminent death. He asks about the costumes that Nora and Helmer would be wearing, and says that he would be wearing an 'invisible hat'. While he means that he won't be there anymore at the next ball because he will be dead by then, he does not address this explicitly.

12. When Nora and Helmer are discussing Doctor Rank’s impending death, what is the significance of Nora’s comments “If it has to happen, it is best it should be without a word—don’t you think so, Torvald?” When Helmer says that Dr. Rank is 'to go away and hide, like a wounded animal' (219), Nora asks him if it is best to leave without a word. Although both of them are discussing Dr. Rank's situation, Nora's statement reflects her own state, as she has contemplated leaving quietly because of her major secret. Nora is asking for reassurance, wanting to know if Torvald believes that it is best to go away without a word. Her question shows that she is going through internal turmoil, conflicted on whether to leave the family.

13. What literary device is Ibsen using when he has Helmer say, “Do you know, Nora, I have often wished that you might be threatened by some great danger, so that I might risk my life’s blood, and everything, for your sake” ? Ibsen is using hyperbole to exaggerate Helmer’s love for Nora, and therefore emphasize it. This hyperbole also suggests that Helmer will “come forward and take all the blame” (p. 230), and therefore that Nora’s “miracle” (p. 229) will happen. This hyperbole therefore builds suspense as the reader waits to find out what Helmer’s reaction will be to learning of his wife’s crime. The hyperbole also makes Helmer’s outburst upon receiving the news seem even more violent, as only minutes before he was wishing for the opportunity to sacrifice himself for Nora’s sake.

14. What is symbolic about the key to the letter box? The key to the letterbox symbolizes power; Helmer keeps the key in his pocket and he is the only person in the house who has access to it. Therefore, plot wise, Nora is unable to open the letterbox and remove the letter that she was initially so afraid of, which depicts her as helpless to solve a problem that should be so simple-- opening a letter box. Nora's fright at having her hairpin discovered even leads her to blame her own children: " Perhaps the children..." (p. 218). In addition, Nora symbolically tried to break into the letter box with the help of her hair pin: "Here's a broken hairpin -- Nora, it's one of yours!" (p. 218), foreshadowing her eventual act of resistance to traditional societal values.

15. Why does Nora want Helmer to read his letters?

Nora wants Torvald to be busy in his study so that she will have time to escape from the house and commit suicide, which is shown when Nora says to herself: “I shall never see him again!” (p. 220). Nora wants to commit suicide because she is expecting that Torvald will “take all the blame” (p. 230) for her crime, and she says that “it was to prevent //that// that I was ready to kill myself” (p. 230). When Nora is preparing to escape, she does not know that Torvald is not as brave as she thought he was; therefore, she still loves him and is preparing to make and even more dramatic sacrifice than she thinks that he will.

DH3.Questions 16-20