Nora (pale with terror). Deprave my
little children? Poison my
home? (A short pause. Then she tosses her head.)
It's not true.
It can't possibly be true href="http://www.fullbooks.com/A-Doll-s-House1.html">(Act
I).
In Act I of
A Doll's House, Henrik Ibsen gives Nora the stage command "pale
with terror" immediately following several speeches of Torvald's in which he berates
Krogstad's character. Krogstad is guilty of a fraudulent crime, though he was never
punished for it. Krogstad used his knowledge of law to legally clear his name of the
crime, however, society still believed him to be guilt. Torvald argues that by conniving
his way out of criminal responsibility, Krogstad is a hypocrite and a liar. Moreover,
Krogstad must continue to lie to his family about his responsibility. In this way,
Krogstad is poisoning his home and his children. Torvald further argues that as a lawyer
he has observed that anyone who becomes a criminal has had "a deceitful
mother."
At this point in the play the reader/viewer is already well
acquainted with the parallels Ibsen has drawn between Nora and Krogstad. Both characters
have engaged in fraudulent activity. Ibsen draws this parallel even closer when he shows
us through Krogstad's lines in href="http://www.fullbooks.com/A-Doll-s-House2.html">Act II, that just like
Nora, Krogstad committed the fraud to save a loved one. Regardless, in Act I, Nora
already senses the similarities between herself and Krogstad, thus, when Torvald argues
that hypocrisy, lies, and especially lying mothers poison homes and children, Nora takes
it very much to heart. Nora knows that she lied to get Torvald to Italy and lied in
forging her father's signature on the loan. Nora grows "pale with terror" in Act I
because she believes Torvald's comments.
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