n caged like a bird for all these years. She must leave Torvald. Before she is able to be a proper wife and mother, she must learn to spread her wings and fly on her own. The end of the play is kind of amusing. Nora began as a fragile “little lark” in Act I. She tried to do and say all the right things to make everyone happy. The problem is that she was never really happy herself. What good is pretending to be a lark if you can never actually fly? Nora has lost sight of herself and really has no idea how to return. At the end of the play, Torvald refers to himself as rescuing Nora, “the dove”, from the “hawk’s claws.” Now it seems to me that Nora could very well be portrayed as the hawk. She is strong, determined, and swoops down and takes what she wants, her long awaited freedom. So Nora the lark has transformed into Nora the hawk. Nora can finally soar above her bondage and learn how to stand on her own. Speaking of “hawk’s claws,” maybe Torvald was correct. All these years, Nora has lived like a “hunted dove.” She has had to hide from her father and then from Torvald. Maybe the very wing that has tried to protect her has been the very wing that has kept her trapped. Most of her life she has had to live in fear of someone else’s opinion and disdain. She has performed her doll duties and has allowed her life and actions to be molded. She has worn her doll dress well, so this is much of her own fault. When begging Torvald, she says, “Your squirrel would scamper about and do tricks, if you’d only be sweet and give in” (1161). The reader is to feel sorry for Nora, but she uses her image to her own advantage at times. She became comfortable in her “doll house” and with her image and played the role that was expected of her. In the closing act, Nora’s eyes have been opened. She had hoped Torvald would ...
