A Doll's House, Part 2: Suspense and Irony — Unit test
Question 10 • LHS English 10
Read the excerpt from act 3 of A Doll’s House.Nora: In all these eight years—longer than that—from the very beginning of our acquaintance, we have never exchanged a word on any serious subject.Helmer: Was it likely that I would be continually and forever telling you about worries that you could not help me to bear?Nora: I am not speaking about business matters. I say that we have never sat down in earnest together to try and get at the bottom of anything.Helmer: But, dearest Nora, would it have been any good to you?Nora: That is just it; you have never understood me. I have been greatly wronged, Torvald—first by papa and then by you.
Answer
A
The conflict between Nora and Helmer shows how men and women could not agree on issues or successfully work together to solve important problems.
B
The conflict between Nora and Helmer shows how gender roles were defined, as Helmer has complete control over everything, including what the couple discusses.
C
The conflict between Nora and Helmer shows how men attempted to limit women’s economic freedoms, causing Nora to lie about how she obtained money.
D
The conflict between Nora and Helmer shows how women who ended marriages had no rights, leading Nora to have to hide her true feelings in order to stay married.
Explanation
Helmer assumes that serious worries would be useless for Nora to hear or discuss, asking, “would it have been any good to you?” Nora says this shows he has never understood her and connects it to being wronged by both her father and her husband. Their exchange reflects gender roles in which Helmer presumes authority over what Nora can understand and what the couple discusses. Choice B best captures that imbalance.
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