DH3.Questions+31-34

31. What does Nora mean when she says she lost her love for her husband “when the wonderful thing did not happen”? She has changed and now understands things much more clearer. She had hoped that maybe she had misjudged her husband and perhaps that he would give up anything for her, as a display of his love. However, Helmer is only interested in self preservation, and does not perform this "miracle" of sacrificing everything he had in the world to protect her. At this point, she knew for sure that her husband has always been the same man, selfish, and petty. She realizes that she had never really known her husband until now.

 32. What would Nora require before she would return to her husband?

She would only return to her husband under one exception, if hey would both change enough, "that [their] life together could be a real marriage" (232). However, before stating this, Nora hesitates to tell Torvald, saying that she "doesn't believe in miracles anymore" (231), demonstrating that she believes that Torvald will never change.

 33. Why does Nora change her clothes before leaving?

Nora changes out of her party dress and into her normal clothes after her climax fight with Helmer. Nora tells Helmer that she has "changed my things now" as if to say that along with changing her outwardly physical appearances she has also changed mentally, and perhaps then and there decided to leave home for good. This act of changing out of her extravagant party dress into street clothes symbolizes her shedding of her outward facade.

 34. Why is this play more effective because it is set at the New Year than it would be if it were set at Valentine’s Day or some other holiday? New Years symbolizes a fresh start, a new beginning, which is exactly what Nora achieves by leaving her home. By departing, Nora is erasing her previous life and moving on to another one that'll actually make her happy.