Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House In Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House, the main male character, Torvald Helmer, speaks very condescendingly to his wife, Nora throughout the first act of the play. He has a definite and narrow definition of a woman's role, which is clearly exemplified in his dialect towards his wife as well as in reference to her. In his opinion, it is the divine duty of a woman to be a good wife …showed first 75 words of 634 total…

…showed last 75 words of 634 total…and sense of himself as being the wise, domineering member of the union, reassuring him of his control over the situation. In all, Torvald holds little respect for Nora as an equal being; rather, he thinks of her as his "little" possession that he receives amusement from. Nora is simply regarded as someone to take care of Torvald and their children, an individual to adore and serve him while he plays the role of director.