A Doll's House - Act I

I first perceived Nora Helmer to be a housewife that spent money and allowed someone else to raise her children.  She was not able to save money and was sneaky with her "treats."  Nora really likes to help other people, but she also seems pretty self-centered.

Torvald Helmer is a business man that likes to please his wife.  It seems like he can never say "no" to her, but he continues to provide for the family.

The setting is very well described in Act I.  It is easy to picture the house and what is going on.  I especially liked when Ibsen described the children running into the house after playing outside (33).

There are quite a few conflicts in Act I.  The play starts with a conflict between Helmer and Nora about spending money.  He believes that she spends too much money and is unable to save.  We later find out that Nora actually borrowed money to "save" Helmer's life and is using every possible cent to pay back that loan.

The borrowed money leads to the conflict between Krogstad and Nora.  Krogstad is afraid of losing his job at the bank so he threatens Nora to talk Helmer into keeping him. However, Helmer does not trust Krogstad and I believe there is more conflict to come.

Act I had a large amount of twists to the plot.  It is well written and easy to stay interested in.