Women in the nineteenth century were expected to live as dependents, first as daughters, and later in life as wives. Nora makes frequent references to her dependence on both her father and her husband throughout the play. For example, when Doctor Rank visits Nora in Act II, she compares her relationship with Torvald to the relationship with her father, saying to Rank: “you c

Nora and Torvald represent the middle class, which Linde would view as superior, and she considers Nora’s attitude towards work “trivial,” where to her, work is necessary. Since Torvald does not approve of Nora working outside the home, which expresses the common attitude towards women in the nineteenth century, Nora must keep her work secret, which she does because: “Torvald is a man with a good deal of pride - it would be terribly embarrassing and humiliating for him if he though he owed anything to me,” (735). The work she does accomplish is limited to the few positions society will allow for women, which are little projects that Torvald does not notice, such as sewing and copying. “Unlike painting or writing, which some middle-class women were taking up as professions, needlework and teaching were seen as "natural" professions for women, and so would have been appropriate for those from the middle- and upper-classes,” (Harris).

Although according to nineteenth-century standards, Torvald would not be accountable for the disintegration of his relationship with Nora, his method of treatment towards her had an affect on her decision to leave. Torvald likes to use money to control his relationship with Nora, and any income Nora earns on her own must be kept secret from him. Early in the play, Kristine Linde comes to visit Nora, and expresses envy of

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