The play implies that social conventions can mask the truth by forcing people to take on false appearances, and pretend to believe they are true.
The most upstanding characters in the play are Krogstad and Mrs. Linde. Mrs. Linde is not respectable because she has worked hard all her life and does not have the easy life of a pampered wife. Mr. Krogstad's reputation and his decision to bust Nora make him seem sleazy, but he is actually trying to hold down a job and raise children on his own without any support. He turns out to be, at heart, a good man. Ibsen wants us to know that appearances can be deceiving.
8. This play is supposed to be a tragedy, and is meant to enlighten us about how we lie to each other and to ourselves in order to save face and keep up appearances.
Nora's character changes for the better. Although she has been forced to tell many lies to keep her marriage together and to keep her husband well, she is finally awake to the truth about who Torvald really is. She no longer wants to commit suicide as a dramatic way to make up for her dishonesty. She finally realizes she can live without Torvald and his false lifestyle. She has been doing an exhausting tap dance to Torvald's tune, and is no longer...
She is actually a good person whose love of material things has kept her playing this role that she does not really believe in.
Torvald does not really change much. Once he thinks his that Krogstad is going to save his reputation, he tries to go back to being a generous tyrant who owns a cute little wife. He is controlling, arrogant and a dark personality. He will never recognize that he is part of the problem.
Krogstad changes only in that his bitterness and fear dissolve when Mrs. Linde tells him she wants to help him out and that she cares for him. Mrs. Linde has not changed at all. She stays the upstanding, hard working, giving person that she always was, and now wants to give herself to Krogestead.
Dr. Rank changes only in his confession to Nora that he loves her. He is mostly just a victim of his personal situation and is somewhat pathetic.
The play's conclusion is not negative. It is not a cheerful ending, but it is satisfying because Nora has finally become honest with herself, and Torvald may get what's coming to him because she has decided to leave.
The goodness in Krogstad and Mrs. Linde has been uncovered, and Dr. Rank will finally be at peace in his death.
