Ibsen's stage directions for the protagonist of the play, Nora Helmer, reveal her various emotions and reflect her current state of mind throughout the play. Towards the beginning of the play, Nora's stage directions instruct her to put her hand over her mouth, play with her buttons without looking Torvald in the eye, and move hurriedly throughout the room. Nora's stage directions also instruct her character to cry out, clap her hands, and make quick movements. In the presence of her husband, Nora is portrayed as submissive, anxious, and reckless. She is a devoted wife, who is living with a secret that will threaten her marriage. Therefore, she is eager to please Torvald and struggles to suppress her constant anxiety.
During Nora's interactions with Krogstad in act two, her stage directions instruct her to suppress her initial cry, act uneasy, and walk back and forth. In the middle of their intense conversation, Nora is directed to speak hotly, gaze defiantly at Krogstad, and remain silent. Her actions reveal her shock, anxiety, and anger during her interactions with him. Once he exits the scene, Nora throws herself onto the sofa and tosses her embroidery work down, which indicates her frustration and stress.
In the final act of the play, Nora's demeanor changes entirely following Torvald's tirade and sudden joy after reading Krogstad's letter. Upon realizing that she has been simply living a dependent, submissive life, Nora begins to truly examine her husband. Her stage directions instruct her to look interrogatively at Torvald, nod while he is speaking, and behave undisturbed. Nora's composed manner indicates her resolute, determined mind state. She then grabs her belongings and leaves her husband to start a new, independent life on her own.
Throughout the play, a close inspection of stage directions reveals Nora's initially agitated state of mind which transforms to one of strong resolve.
During Krogstad's threatening conversation in Act 1, Nora's stage directions begin to reflect her anxiety. It is noted in line 367 that she is nearly in tears during the conversation. Later in line 417, Nora begins gathering her children's clothes but is too preoccupied with her thoughts; it is noted that she soon stops. At the end of this act, she is pale with terror when she considers her husband's comments that a mother can poison her children if she is deceitful.
The beginning of Act 2 begins much the same; Nora begins unpacking a box but throws it aside. She tries to move toward the door but remains irresolutely standing. In all actions, it seems that Nora cannot move forward and cannot be propelled into decisive action. She is thus in a constant state of agitation, visible in the stage directions.
This stands in sharp contrast to the stage directions for Nora in Act 3, when she finally decides on her course of action. When she lets Helmer know that she is leaving, there is no note of indecisiveness. She exits the stage briefly and then reenters with her coat and a small overnight bag, which she puts on a chair by the table. The directions here are clear and unwavering. Just after this, she throws her shawl about her. And then she [picks] up the overnight bag. In contrast to the frenzied emotional state that the stage directions convey early in the play, these final directions are emotionless, conveying that Nora has emotionally detached herself from her husband and her family, and her state of mind is calm as she makes her exit.
Throughout the play, the stage directions are explicit, revealing Nora's state of mind in an obvious way. For example, in act 1, when Nora is reluctant to tell Torvald what gift she would like, the stage direction indicates "playing with his coat buttons, and without raising her eyes to his," which are both gestures representative of evasiveness, revealing Nora's anxiety about what to say next. Nora is hesitating and nervous, so she distracts herself with Torvald's buttons and looks down.
Later in act 1 when Mrs. Linde is visiting, the stage directions also command Nora and her tone of voice with a very clear adverb like "contemptuously" and instructions like "Lowering her voice" that suggest a secret is coming. In act 2, Nora speaks in a "in a horror-stricken voice," and then she is "bewildered with anxiety, stands as if rooted to the spot, and whispers," both of which clearly reveal Nora's nervous and anxious state of mind. Throughout the play, Nora's emotions are intense, and the stage directions are so clear, any actor playing Nora in a production of A Doll's House would have no doubt as to her state of mind at different moments of the play.
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