How Does Torvald Manipulate Nora's Reputation

First, the most obvious point to prove that Torvald is motivated to control Nora for the sake of his reputation is the way that he treats her. He feels he must control her so that she will look and act how he wants and not spoil any of his reputation. Torvald sees Nora as a doll, hence the book title. He likes to dress her up to suit his fantasies towards her. One example of this is when he has her dress up as a Capri fisher girl and dance the Tarantella to arouse him. When she dances it too wildly, he says, “Stop, Rank; this is sheer madness. Stop, I tell you! I could never have believed it. You have forgotten everything I taught you.” (49). Torvald gets very angry with Nora after she doesn’t dance the Tarantella correctly. However, the whole reason behind why she is doing it is …show more content…
Torvald’s nicknames for Nora and the ways he speaks to her in general also show us how he thinks of her as his child or his pet. One example is when Nora has to hide the macaroons from Torvald. He asks her while wagging his finger, “Hasn’t Miss Sweet Tooth been breaking rules in town today?” (4). This sounds like something a parent would ask their 5 year old child after they sneak a cookie from the jar. However, in this case, Nora is certainly much older than 5 and is not Torvald’s child, so this remark really stands out. The fact that Torvald has banned Nora from eating them in the first place shows that he thinks of her like a child, not capable of making good decisions and in need of an external presence to moderate her behavior. Another strange thing Torvald does is gently scold his wife. When Nora asks for money for Christmas, he says, “It’s a sweet little spendthrift, but she uses up a deal of money. One would hardly believe how expensive such little persons are!”. What Torvald is trying to say is that he does not feel she is smart enough to handle money, since she is such a ‘little’