Question

Nora: Listen, Torvald. I have heard that when a wife deserts her husband’s house, as I am doing now, he is legally freed from all obligations towards her. In any case, I set you free from all your obligations. You are not to feel yourself bound in the slightest way, any more than I shall. There must be perfect freedom on both sides. See, here is your ring back. Give me mine.

–A Doll’s House,
Henrik Ibsen

What evidence from the text best supports the theme that women have an equal right to be free?

“He is legally freed from all obligations towards her.”
“I set you free from all your obligations.”
“You are not to feel yourself bound in the slightest way.”
“There must be perfect freedom on both sides.”

Answer 1

“There must be perfect freedom on both sides.”

This line explicitly asserts mutual freedom and equality — Nora insists that both husband and wife be equally free, which most directly supports the theme that women have an equal right to be free.