Reality is sometimes a hard thing to come to terms with. A child doesn't want to know that Santa Claus doesn't really exist, just as a cuckolded husband doesn't want to believe his wife is cheating on him. But eventually we as humans must face up to the truth about ourselves. Otherwise, we'd never evolve. It is this striking theme that permeates the entire second act of Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House. The first act of the play found Nora's secrets backfiring on her, threatening to upset forever the blind tranquility of her home life. In this second act, she begins to come to terms with the fact that her perfect fantasy world is in fact just that - a fantasy. Nora begins to have realizations about the nature of her marriage and, indeed, her very life. She doesn't want to face these facts about herself and her family, but she can no longer turn back. Something has to change, for better or for worse.
             This principle dramatic action is set into motion from the very first scene, which begins with the first stage directions of the act and ends with Nora crying, "Ah- they're coming-!" The nurse makes a comment while talking to Nora that seems to sum up the dramatic action of this scene - "A poor girl what's got into trouble can't afford to pick and choose" (p. 548, Col. A). This is significant because what Nora is doing throughout this entire scene is pondering her situation and what her options are. She first tries to assure herself using symbols of solidity in her life. "It couldn't happen. It isn't possible. Why, I've three small children" (p. 547, Col. B). But this is little more than false comfort, as we see in Nora's conversation with her nurse. Here, it becomes clear that Nora is as torn as her dress. She simultaneously wants to maintain the status quo and escape the situation completely. This is reflected best when she states, "...If my little ones had no one else, I know you would-no, silly, silly, silly!" (...