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A Doll's House tells the story of Nora who is a "wife" of a "bank manager" Helmer. It is not only Nora who has been assigned a role model to act like that but Helmer also is a character, playing his part in this real drama of life. The mere fact that Nora's well-intentioned action is considered illegal reflects woman's subordinate position in society; but it is her actions that provide the insight to this position. It can be suggested that women have the power to choose which rules to follow at home, but not in the business world, thus again indicating her subordinations. Nora does not at first realize that the rules outside the household apply to her. This is evident in Nora's meeting with Krogstad, regarding her borrowed money. In her opinion it was no crime for a woman to do everything possible to save her husband's life. She also believes that her act will be overlooked because of her desperate situation. She fails to see that the law does not take into account the motivation behind her forgery. Actually meeting with Krogstad was her first confrontation with the reality of a "lawful society" and that is when he becomes aware of the world that she is living in. Thus her first encounter with rules outside of her "doll's house" results in the realization of her naivety and inexperience with the real world due to her subordinate role in society.
As the play opens the first impression that we get of her is of "humming" housewife, satisfied with what ever she has got. It is only when we get to know about her first secession from society, when she broke the law and decided to borrow money to pay for her husband's treatment. By doing that she not only broke the law but also stepped away from the role society has imposed on her being totally dependent on her husband. It must also be taken into consideration that during the time the play was written women were supposed to fulfill certain duties like supporting their husbands, taking good care of their children and making sure that everything remain perfect inside and house.
