Nora the Manipulator
- "Nora: yes Torvald. I can't get anywhere without your help."
- " Nora: how pretty these flowers look! But, tell me, is it so dreadful, this thing that Krogstad's done?"
(Act 1, page 53)
This is a clear display of Ibsen's use of Nora's flirtation to display Nora's manipulative characteristics. At first, Nora drag's Torvald's mind by talking about her dress and how she does not know what dress to wear and then uses a mix of flirtation and flattery to soften him. By using the phrase" I can't get anywhere without your help" she picks on Torvald's masculinity and her knowledge of her husband as a prideful person makes it easy for her to shape his thoughts. Nora also knowing this further shows her manipulative character since it connotes that she has been analyzing her husband and his thought process to find efficient ways of conversing with him to get what she wants( i.e when she asks Torvald for money ). She even attempts to surprise her husband by drawing his attention to the Christmas tree before abruptly asking him about what Krogstad did. Torvald has been restricted about speaking of Krogstad and his employment and the phrase" is it so dreadful" shows along with trying to connect to Torval.s emotions and to aggravate him so that he would slur out about what Krogstad did, she also hopes that the sudden flirtation and asking would dull his senses so that he would tell her.
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