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Nora’s father is dead before the story begins but exists at the center of its most important plot point. He was on his deathbed when Nora forged his signature, which allowed her to borrow the money she needed to save Torvald’s life. Initially, this plan worked. But as Krogstad’s position at the bank is threatened upon Torvald being given a management role, he finds that the contract was signed and dated after Nora’s father’s death, leading him to the discovery that the IOU was fraudulent and a perfect way to blackmail Nora.
The picture Nora paints of her father is that of an absent man who provided for her material needs, but did not take the time to teach her about the ways of the world or equip her with tools needed to hold any kind of independence. While Nora has genuine feelings of love and devotion for her father, it becomes increasingly clear as time goes on that she also blames him for the situation she finds herself in. This blame creates feelings of resentment within her as she recognizes that she was not seen as a full person in the eyes of her father. Rather, she has lived her life as a beautiful doll– first to her father, and now to her husband. Ibsen’s inclusion of Nora’s father in the play’s narrative helps us to understand some of the more traditionally-male social roles of the time, and how they aided in creating a society in which women held virtually no power.
