DH2.Questions+21-25

21. What does Nora do to distract Helmer from the mail? Nora claims that she has "forgotten absolutely everything" (203) about dancing the tarantella and needs Helmer to help her rehearse for the party the following evening. She pleads to start practice the very moment he starts heading towards the letter box and keep on practicing "up to the last minute" (204) before the party.

22. What is the “wonderful thing” to which Nora refers? When Nora remarks that "it's a wonderful thing to be waiting for a miracle," she is referring to the hope she has inside that her husband, Torvald will not condemn Nora for her crime and be ready to take the blame upon himself instead. Her hope seems to be primarily based on her belief of her husband's devotion and love.

23. What does Nora imply at the end of the act? As Nora looks at her watch and calculates the number of hours till the tarantella is over, she says that there is 'thirty-one hours to live', implying that she knows something huge and disastrous is going to take place thirty one hours later, when Torvald reads the letter from Krogstad. The way Nora counts the hours left 'to live' makes it seem like she is counting down towards her 'death', when everything is going to change drastically.

24. How does the structure of Act II contrast to that of Act I in terms of rising action, incident, and character development? Because Nora is the protagonist of the story, the structure of the of the acts revolves around how she acts and reacts to certain situations, we can see this through certain stage directions and her dialogue. ACT I: At the beginning of act 1 we are introduced to Nora, we perceive her as immature, generous, and spoilt. However once we are introduced to Krogstad, the catalyst in Nora's change in behavior, we notice that she is actually quite mature and independent, which was unusual for women back in that era. The introduction to Krogstad is also when we notice a rise in action, as i said before because Nora is the central character, so as her feeling change so does the structure of the play altogether. ACT II: At the beginning of act 2 Nora is anxious and stressed, which shows that that the action of this act starts from the very beginning. However, we dont see that much of a change in Nora during this act as she seems to stay anxious and stressed the whole time.

25. What is the emotional landscape of Act II? The emotional landscape of Act II is conflicted, desperate and distraught. From Nora's fruitless conversation where she attempted to convince Torvald to "dismiss some other clerk instead of Krogstad" (187) and Dr. Rank's fateful proclamation of his disease to Nora and Krogstad's uncomfortable conversation, the act gives rise to several emotions. Not only does Nora desperately try to change Torvald's mind, but she also attempts to convince Krogstad to not leave his letter. Both of these desperation-fueled actions fail and leave Nora distraught and distressed.

DH2.Questions 26-27