Tovald Helmer infantilizes his wife Nora, but he is deserving of some compassion for a few reasons. First, he is a creation of his times, when men were supposed to be superior intellectually to women and instruct them in the right ways to behave. He takes this role to heart. For example, at the beginning of the play, he lectures Nora about loans and says:
"Still my little featherbrain! Supposing I borrowed a thousand crowns today,...
Tovald Helmer infantilizes his wife Nora, but he is deserving of some compassion for a few reasons. First, he is a creation of his times, when men were supposed to be superior intellectually to women and instruct them in the right ways to behave. He takes this role to heart. For example, at the beginning of the play, he lectures Nora about loans and says:
"Still my little featherbrain! Supposing I borrowed a thousand crowns today, and you made ducks and drakes of them during Christmas week, and then on New Year's Eve a tile blew off the roof and knocked my brains out."
His words are clearly demeaning and sexist, but they also betray a sense of fear and worry on Torvald's part. In the past, he fell ill, and Nora was forced to work to support the family. Torvald is in part motivated by fear and vulnerability that make him worthy of pity.
Torvald is also deserving of compassion because he is not without a kind of love towards his wife, even if it's patronizing. He says to Nora, "Just tell me something sensible you would like to have." Even when trying to buy a Christmas present for his wife, Torvald is both caring and controlling. He wants to buy her something, but something that is also "sensible" according to his judgment. He later calls her "my own, sweet little song-bird." He wants to treat her like a feeble bird, but there is no doubt that he wants to be protective and caring and that these emotions are benevolent, if misguided.
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