Nora
...of male domination. She is master of the domestic world, dedicated enough to nurse her husband through illness, courageous enough to forge a signature and confident enough to pay back all her debts even in the face of enormous difficulties.
But that is not what exactly sets her apart from convention—neither the energy or the initiative she exudes throughout, nor her decision to shatter her notions of marriage and seek independence. Rather, it is the intention or the motivation with which she carries herself throughout the text and more importantly the sub-text of the play that makes her different. Nora, despite her disenchantment and climactic decision, comes across as a less than innocent woman ambivalently portrayed, incredibly adept at manipulation and who does not, in the end, deserve the full sympathy that the thrust of the dominant narrative demands.
She walks into a comfortably and tastefully furnished room, as soon as the play begins, with a bunch of parcels and immediately asks for the Christmas Tree to be hidden "carefully", pops a few macaroons into her mouth and then cautiously goes to her husband's door and listens, eventually remarking
"Yes he is in."
The reason for such cautious behaviour seems quite uncertain as her husband's presence inside the room is immaterial to her secretive actions (that of eating macaroons) as he is clearly out of sight, which makes us conjecture that perhaps such stealth is part of her normal behaviour. When Torvald does appear however, something that becomes very noticeable is the way Nora uses her movement, repetitively, like an application, to alleviate Torvald's argumentative tone.
For example, when her husband vehemently opposes the idea of borrowing,
Helmer: Â… and we will go on the same way for the short time longer that there need be...
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