A Doll’s House

Torvald sees himself as the man of the house and the breadwinner. He treats his wife like a child, overseeing her every move, and providing parental guidance and castigation. In reality, while Torvald was ill, Nora not only took care of their obligations, she also negotiated a loan to provide her husband with a doctor ordered trip to Italy for his recuperation, all while keeping him in the dark. She'd also spent years saving for the quarterly payments due on the loan. Thus, Torvald is not all he pretends to be, and he is too self-absorbed to see what his wife did to take care of things while he was ill.