This is most apparent when Torvald bans Nora from eating macaroons, restricts her finances to an allowance, and calls her by several names.
He treats Nora more like a child than a wife. He calls her silly names and scolds her for eating macaroons. Toward the end of the play, he even says that Nora is "doubly his own" because she has "become both wife and child" (3.257).
In a paroxysm of self-pity and indignation, Torvald struts and shouts, vulgarly abusing his wife for bringing this shame upon him, for putting him into Krogstad's power. People might even suspect that he was responsible for the whole thing, that he prompted Nora to do the deed.
Torvald Helmer betrays his wife by not defending and understanding her when he finds out the secret she has been keeping from him. To her utter disappointment, Helmer tells her that he can work day and night for her, bear sorrow for her but no man would sacrifice his honour for the one he loves.
Torvald's objectification of Nora is clear from the start, as he addresses her with dehumanizing epithets like “little singing bird” and “little squirrel of mine,” which cast Nora more as a pet, as a thing to be kept, than as a person with autonomy (3).
As a victim of his narrow view of society, Torvald inspires sympathy rather than reproach. When a man mistakes appearances for values, the basic blame must be attributed to his social environment. Ibsen, however, drives home the loathsome qualities of such a character by attributing to him a personal decadence.
Torvald in return deceives Nora by making her believe he loves her, he even says “Do you know Nora, often I wish some terrible danger would threaten you, so that I could offer my life and my blood, everything for your sake.” In reality he prioritizes other things before her and just regards her as his property.
When Torvald accuses Nora of not loving him anymore, Nora says his claim is true. She then explains that she realized that she didn't love Torvald that evening, when her expectation that he would take the blame for her—showing his willingness to sacrifice himself for love—wasn't met.
Perhaps Torvald's most dislikeable quality is his blatant hypocrisy. Many times throughout the play, Torvald criticizes the morality of other characters. He trashes the reputation of Krogstad, one of his lesser employees (and ironically the loan shark that Nora is indebted to).
Why does Nora claim Torvald's never "actually" loved her? Torvald never came to her rescue when she was threatened. What toy does Nora compare herself to?
He once committed a forgery, Torvald tells her. "Out of necessity?" asks Nora, and he nods. Any man is allowed one false move, Torvald continues, so long as he openly confesses and accepts his punishment.
An example of Torvald's misogyny is that he treats Nora like a child, or a pet, instead of a wife with equal value and opinions as his. He says to Nora “playtime shall be over, and lesson-time shall begin,” when she presents to him the problems with their marriage (Ibsen 56).
Torvald is the typical husband of the time of the play. He tries to control his wife and expect her to submit to him. He manipulates her through many different ways. First, he calls her pet names such as "little lark" (3) and "squirrel" (4) and speaks to her in a condescending tone, as if she is a child.
Linde brought them and then explains to Mrs. Linde that Torvald has “outlawed” macaroons because he thinks they are bad for Nora's teeth.
Torvald seems to be in charge of every aspect of her life and makes decisions with respect to what she should eat, how she should walk, and the like. He sees his wife Nora as an object of his desire; a property that he has his complete right over.
Nora asks that he not look at her “like that,” and Torvald responds by asking if he can't look at his “most treasured possession.” He says that he can tell she still has the tarantella in her blood and that makes her even more desirable.
Torvald thinks Nora has made a careless promise to the man. She says Krogstad writes for papers and could spread rumors and bad publicity. Krogstad is too familiar and friendly with him in public.
Nora is certain that beneath the role Torvald is playing, that he loves her just as deeply as she loved him when she secretly broke the rules of society.
Torvald's insistence on calling Nora by affectionately diminutive names evokes her helplessness and her dependence on him. The only time that Torvald calls Nora by her actual name is when he is scolding her.
Nora is a victim of the male-dominated society of the nineteenth century. To save her husband, Torvald, she borrows money so that he might be able to recover from a life-threatening illness in a warmer climate.
Ultimately, Torvald's selfishness becomes apparent in his lack of concern about his wife's fate, despite the fact that she committed a crime to save his life.
What secret has Nora been keeping from Torvald? She was in love with his brother before she married him.
The irony of Torvald's observation is in his unwillingness to look more closely into people's motives: In Torvald's description of the fallout from lying, he is demonizing a liar rather than empathizing with a person who may have extenuating circumstances.
Torvald has banned Nora from eating macaroons. Although Nora claims that she never disobeys Torvald, this is proved false in the very opening of the play when Nora eats macaroons while she was alone in the living room. The macaroons come to represent Nora's disobedience and deceit.
On the contrary, Nora lies to Torvald about eating macaroons because she feels the need to maintain her dignity, while catering to her own desires. Moreover, as Nora enters her house, she “then goes cautiously to her husband's door and listens” (1), exhibiting her propensity to sneak earlier in the play.