In Henrik Ibsen's Doll's House, the main character, Nora Helmer, shows us the story of a woman who borrowed money without it consent of her husband to save her life. Although this noble act is admired by most, Nora must keep it a secret from Torvald Helmer, her husband, as he would consider it a betrayal. Nora's steps to keep the loan a secret create circumstances that lead Nora, whose only duty is to serve her husband, to discover that there may be more to her life than simply being complicit with her husband. She becomes herself. In her struggle to keep the borrowed money out of reach of her husband's knowledge, Nora begins a transformation from her dependence on Torvald, to becoming self-sufficient, self-worthy, and independent - qualities that were lacking to the women of her time - because not all of them, like Nora, ever demonstrated their own spirit. In the end, when Nora's secret is revealed to Torvald and his reaction is to condemn her for borrowing money, Nora realizes that she no longer fears her husband's reaction; she no longer cares about keeping up the appearances of what society says she should be as a wife and mother. The secret that Nora strives to keep hidden gives her the opportunity to discover herself as an individual and what she is capable of doing regardless of the constraints of society. In fact, Nora's first demonstration of self-sufficiency occurred when Torvald "fell deathly ill [and] the doctors told him that it was essential that he travel south" (799). At the time, Nora and Torvald were not counting on money to make the trip, and knowing that Torvald would never agree to borrow money, Nora "was the one who collected the money" (801 ) She ingeniously managed to convince her husband to travel South without having to think...... middle of paper ...... She listened to Torvald ramble on about his bad deeds and how embarrassing it is for him, while "he never understood her" (842) With a determined look, she said to him: "I was greatly wronged, Torvald, first by dad, then by you... I went from Dad's hands in yours. …Now, when I look back, I feel like I lived here like a beggar, day by day. I have lived doing tricks for you, Torvald” (843) Nora now knows that everything she did for her husband was out of duty; she had to behave a certain way because society dictated it that way. But the burden of keeping the loan a secret from her husband made her stronger; made her desire a position on an equal footing with him "there must be absolute freedom for [them] both" (846) Nora's secret gave her the opportunity to discover herself as an individual and what she is capable of doing; she gains in individualism.