Symbols in Doas
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Motifs
Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the texts major themes.
Noras Definition of Freedom
Noras understanding of the meaning of freedom evolves over the course of the play. In the first act, she believes that she will be totally “free” as soon as she has repaid her debt, because she will have the opportunity to devote herself fully to her domestic responsibilities. After Krogstad blackmails her, however, she reconsiders her conception of freedom and questions whether she is happy in Torvalds house, subjected to his orders and edicts. By the end of the play, Nora seeks a new kind of freedom. She wishes to be relieved of her familial obligations in order to pursue her own ambitions, beliefs, and identity.
Letters
Many of the plots twists and turns depend upon the writing and reading of letters, which function within the play as the subtext that reveals the true, unpleasant nature of situations obscured by Torvald and Noras efforts at beautification. Krogstad writes two letters: the first reveals Noras crime of forgery to Torvald; the second retracts his blackmail threat and returns Noras promissory note. The first letter, which Krogstad places in Torvalds letterbox near the end of Act Two, represents the truth about Noras past and initiates the inevitable dissolution of her marriage–as Nora says immediately after Krogstad leaves it, “We are lost.” Noras attempts to stall Torvald from reading the letter represent her continued denial of the true nature of her marriage. The second letter releases Nora from her obligation to Krogstad and represents her release from her obligation to Torvald. Upon reading it, Torvald attempts to return to his and Noras previous denial of reality, but Nora recognizes that the letters have done more than expose her actions to Torvald; they have exposed the truth about Torvalds selfishness, and she can no longer participate in the illusion of a happy marriage.
Dr. Ranks method of communicating his imminent death is to leave his calling card marked with a black cross in Torvalds letterbox. In an earlier conversation with Nora, Dr. Rank reveals his understanding of Torvalds unwillingness to accept reality when he proclaims, “Torvald is so fastidious, he cannot face up to -anything ugly.” By leaving his calling card as a death notice, Dr. Rank politely attempts to keep Torvald from the “ugly” truth. Other letters include Mrs. Lindes note to Krogstad,