Nora+and+Krisitine

=Nora and Kristina - from "Oh, yesterday..." (183) to "I'm not going away until we've talked the whole thing over." (186) =

**Summary**: In this conversation, Nora talks with Kristina about Dr. Rank and the news of his impending death. Kristina, led to believe by a previous conversation with Nora that the loan she used to pay for her and Torvald's trip to the south came from Dr. Rank, warns Nora that she should stop seeing Dr. Rank. Nora, however, truthfully denies that the loan was from Dr. Rank and soon after sends Kristina to "sit with the children" (186). Kristina leaves Nora wondering if she is hiding something from her.


 * Changes in Nora**
 * During this conversation, Nora is "get[s] up and cross[es] the room" (183), "walk[s] about" (184), "pac[es] up and down" (185)
 * Nora's restless actions indicate that she feels very nervous about her situation with Krogstad, about lying to her husband and children. Her pacing makes her seem impatient, as if she wants to get the whole ordeal over and done with.
 * "Oh, it's you, Kristina! There isn't anyone else out there?" Nora asks Kristina if anyone else is outside, revealing her uneasiness
 * Nora's attitude in this scene contrasts greatly with that from her previous conversation with Kristina about the loan. Previously, Nora pulled Kristina "onto the sofa beside her"(159), was "smiling"(159) and even lay "back on the sofa" (160); Nora had previously felt extremely comfortable and even smug about her loan from Krogstad.
 * All of Nora's changes in behaviour show that she has understood the gravity of her situation, and how severe the crime that she has committed is perceived to be: "And you can tear [the bond] into little pieces and burn it- the horrid filthy thing?" (186). Nora is now perturbed and anxious about her past action and its consequences.
 * Just from Nora saying that she could burn up her bond, Mrs. Linde realizes that there is something wrong and that Nora has not told her everything about her loan, reinforcing the understanding between the two women.
 * However, this hidden fact (the forged signature) also shows that the trust between Nora and Kristina is not as full as it might have seemed: Nora still hasn't told Mrs. Linde about her deeper secret about the money that she borrowed. (Note that trust and understanding between the two women are two different things).
 * The theme of deception is expanded to include Nora's deception of her friend Kristina, showing that Nora really can't fully trust anyone, emphasizing the depth of Nora's personal problems and how her outlook has changed since gleefully revealing her secret to Kristina in their earlier conversation.


 * Changes in Kristina**
 * Kristina is constantly sewing during this conversation ("as [Kristina] sews" (183), "sewing again" (184))
 * This gives the impression that Kristina is not paying as much attention to Nora as she was during the previous conversation (ironically, because Nora is in a much more distressed state during this talk)
 * At one point Kristina stops sewing: MRS. LINDE [//putting down her sewing//] (184). Mrs. Linde's abandonment of her sewing to talk to Nora emphasizes her concern over how Nora got to know about Dr. Rank's condition (which is what they are talking about when Kristina stops sewing), and shows that Kristina is actually interested now that the topic has changed to Nora's relationship with Dr. Rank, which
 * Later, Mrs. Linde resumes her sewing: [ //after a short silence - sewing again//] (184) Kristina's actions suggest that she has paused to to think, and also that she is either trying to be casual or trying to relieve her stress through sewing. This stress could be due to having to bring up the delicate topic of Nora's relationship with Dr. Rank and, specifically, whether Nora borrowed the money from him.
 * Some of Nora's actions in the previous conversation even seem to be copied, more or less, in this conversation, such as when Nora [//sit[s] up//] (160) while talking to Mrs. Linde, suddenly alert and saying "Is it rash to save your husband's life?" (160). In this scene, the opposite happens when Kristina rises to tell Nora that she knows that Nora is hiding something from her: MRS. LINDE [//giving [Nora] a penetrating looks, [Kristina] puts down her sewing and rises slowly]// (186).
 * Overall, these actions tend to set Kristina as the dominant character in the scene, contrarily to the previous conversation examined in which Nora was very confident and proud when telling Kristina that she had raised the money for the Italy trip herself,even pulling Kristina down onto the sofa next to her (159). This change of roles shows how Nora has lost some of her confidence since learning about the severity of her crime.
 * Kristina is still paying attention to what Nora is saying and she is still just as worried about and suspicious of Nora as she was in their previous conversation: "Now, Nora dear, listen to me - you haven't done anything rash, have you?" (160). Kristina continues to play a very 'objective' role, as a person who speaks out for the law and is morally conscious of right and wrong
 * Shows how Mrs. Linde is still Nora's 'advisor' who tries to make her see things logically, and who is the voice of reason to Nora's wild ideas, such as when Kristina interjects "But you wouldn't," (185) when Nora begins to hypothesize on what would happen if she were to ask Dr. Rank for money.
 * This mention of Dr. Rank also draws a parallel between the previous conversation when Nora said that she might have got her money from "some rich admirer." (160).


 * Other Purposes/Effects:**
 * Reveals Nora's sympathy for Dr. Rank: "he's really very ill, poor man," (183) and "Why, Dr. Rank's almost one of the family." (184)
 * Reveals that Nora has deep feelings of friendship for Dr. Rank.
 * Sets up Mrs. Linde to suspect that Dr. Rank is Nora's "rich admirer" (184).
 * Foreshadows Dr. Rank's later admission of affection to Nora.
 * Shows that Nora is still not completely independent "A man can sort out these things so much better than a woman." (185).
 * Kristina's continuous questioning is present in this conversation, similar to the conversation in Act One
 * Reveals more about the friendship between Nora and Kristina:
 * "Oh, this //is// kind of you." Kristina offers to help Nora sew up the trimming on her costume
 * Kristina is quick to pick up on abnormalities in Nora's behaviour, able to tell when something is different or wrong


 * Naturalism:**
 * The ideas of naturalism are presented in this passage in pages 183 and 184. Nora talks about how Dr. Rank's father's irresponsible lifestyle, in which he "had mistresses and that sort of thing," (184), has led to the son's sickness: consumption of the spine.
 * Although we now know this to be complete nonsense, back when the play was written this was likely a completely plausible explanation for Dr. Rank's condition.
 * By mentioning Dr. Rank's father, the relationship between parent and child is emphasized, showing that a parent's actions can greatly influence his/her children. This relates to Nora and refers back to Act One, when Torvald told Nora that a parent could poison and corrupt his/her own children. Since Dr Rank's lifestyle had an impact on his son, Nora's actions could also impact her children, making it seem like the younger generation has to bear the consequences of actions of the older generation.
 * Nora also says that "when you've had three children, you get visits from - from women with a certain amount of medical knowledge - and they gossip about these things" (184). This claim shows how Nora's visitors (possibly nurses), who at least Nora considers authorities on the topic of science, are likely only idle, gossiping women like Nora has been for the greater part of her life.
 * In the previous conversation segment, there were no significant elements of naturalism present. This inclusion of naturalism here can make Nora seem more mature as she is acting serious and respectable, unlike before when she was excited and childish about revealing how she got the money to Mrs. Linde.
 * The inclusion of naturalism also makes Dr. Rank's condition all the more severe, as there is "scientific" reasoning behind it; the audience will understand that his case is very unfortunate and will sympathize with him, which makes his admission of affection to Nora all the more captivating later on.