The title - A Doll's House likens the family conveyed in this play to a doll's house. This suggests that the family of Nora seems superficial. Though on the surface, the family is presented as being calm, happy and affectionate of each other. It is in fact a family full of pretendence, full of lies and possibly full of hatred.
The protagonist, Nora is initially portrayed as a carefree being, self centred but considerate for others. Initially, she is treated by her husband Helmer as though she is a 'little' innocent girl who has not yet reached the stage of becoming a woman. This is shown through the various pet names her husband has for her, 'little sweet tooth', 'little squirrel' and 'little skylark'.The addition of 'little' in front of these names give the readers the impression that Nora is naive, 'silly' and lacks foresight. The 'dancing and dressing up and reciting' which Nora does to impress her husband and to 'amuse' him, furthermore emphasises the idea. However, this forms a stark contrast with the personalities of Nora later in the act. The conversation between Nora and Mrs Linda is able to prove that the characteristics of Nora shown at the beginning of the act are in fact incorrect. Nora's strengths begin to appear, she is seen as a woman to be admired. Her fierce display of determination is evident through her account of her fight for money in order for her husband to be in better health conditions. Her ability of being able to use imagination to overcome hardship and extreme situations is equally admirable , she '[imagines] that a rich old gentleman had fallen in love with [her]... and that he died..."all my money is to go to the lovely Mrs Nora Helmer -cash down."' It is seems as though that Nora's wild imagination is able to push her to her maximum capacity, and in doing so, allowing her to finally accomplish her goals. And thus, depicting Nora as a worthy woman of great intentions, at the same time, ambitious.
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