Character Analysis: Helmer

She is the wife of Helmer and the mother of three children. On the surface, she plays the role of a naive housewife and her husband grants her the nicknames of “skylark”, “squirrel”, and “spendthrift”. Nora’s father is also recently deceased. She committed a crime by forging her father’s signature so she could take out a loan to save Torvald’s life.

He is Nora’s husband and a bank manager. He supposedly handles all the money matters in the family. He can be frugal at times and accuses Nora of not being able to handle money. Nora is like a child to him and he intends to treat her as such.

He is a lawyer who went to school with Torvald and clings to his job at the bank. Mrs. Linde left him for a man of money to help provide for her family. He gave Nora a loan in which she forged the signature. He is also known for a crime where he committed a forgery. He blackmails Nora (concerning her loan) to try and keep from being fired from the bank.

She saves Helmer by taking out a secret loan.

She describes conditions under which she would tell him about the loan.

A bank manager who is extremely concerned about the way society views him. He allows his emotions to be swayed by the thought of society’s respect and the fear of society’s scorn.

A lawyer who has a job at Torvald’s bank. He lent Nora money to pay for the trip to Italy. Krogstad wants to keep his job to spare his children from the hardships of a spoiled reputation. Unlike Torvald, who selfishly seeks respect, Krogstad desires it for his family’s sake. He is willing to let Nora suffer, but claims to sympathize with her because their crimes are similar.

The doorbell symbolizes problems and solutions. In the beginning, a character or information is introduced that...

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...e part of a person’s character. The author also shows that characters who are concerned with appearances, such as Helmer, want to appear morally acceptable in the eyes of society.

Ibsen drives the point home that materialism is used as a mask for problems. The characters in the story, like the rest of society, associate happiness with the presence of money. Helmer and Nora personify this flaw because they turn a blind eye on the problems in their marriage so long as they are in good financial standing.

The author uses Torvald to portray the harmful effects of materialism. Helmer deals with money since he works at the bank and he is the breadwinner in his family. This gives him a sense of control, making his wife and children akin to possessions. Ibsen likes to point out that there is little love in their family because they treat each other as possessions.