Act III- # 6 How do you interpret her final slamming of the door?

The final conversation between Torvald and Nora and slamming of the door reveals the true nature of both characters and their deepest desires in life. The couples goals in life appear to be obvious throughout the story, but it is not until Nora “slams the door” on Torvald that the reader completely understands the hidden principles of each character. On the surface, it appears that Nora simply wants to keep her husband happy (by protecting his health and doing whatever he wants her to do). Torvald appears to strive for wealth, pleasing his delicate unknowledgeable wife, and always doing the right thing. In the final scene leading to the final slamming of the door, Nora reveals that her head does great deal more of intellectual contemplation than she is given credit for. Because she learns that law would not take motive into consideration and that she would be condemned in court, she tells Torvald that she “must try to discover who is right, society of me” (1732). In a sense Nora is maturing as an individual, but she is also abandoning her family. While it is true that Torvald is not the man that she expected him to be, he is her husband and she should try to work things out with him. It is not completely his fault that she let all of her anger resentment build up inside to the point of explosion. At this time, men were in charge of the house so Nora may have worried about the consequences of speaking up. Unfortunately by not speaking up, Nora and Torvald’s marriage shattered into millions of pieces which is symbolized by the final slamming of the door. Torvald reveals that his top priorities are not being moral and ethical, rather it’s his reputation. Throughout the play, Torvald prides himself in his high morals and condemns people such as Krogstad as immoral and therefore unbearable to be around. By automatically deeming his wife incapable of raising his children due to one mistake, Torvald reveals a hidden radical and self-centered nature within him. Both Nora and Torvald hold one thing in their life higher than each other: Nora holds her education and self investigation higher than her husband and Torvald holds his reputation higher than the importance of his wife. The final slamming of the door signifies the clash between Nora and Torvald that cannot be solved. While a door is closed on Torvald’s dream life, a new one is opened for Nora.