Question

Nora: Tell me, is it really true that you did not love your husband? Why did you marry him?

Mrs. Linde: My mother was alive then, and was bedridden and helpless, and I had to provide for my two younger brothers; so I did not think I was justified in refusing his offer.

Nora: No, perhaps you were quite right. He was rich at that time, then?

Mrs. Linde: I believe he was quite well off. But his business was a precarious one; and, when he died, it all went to pieces and there was nothing left.

–A Doll’s House,
Henrik Ibsen

How does the character of Mrs. Linde help develop the idea of gender inequality?
She says that she married her husband to save his business from failing.
She says that she did not think she could turn down her husband’s proposal.
She says that she married her husband because he was sick and needed care.
She says that she married her husband out of love, which was not always done at that time.

Answer 1

She says that she did not think she could turn down her husband’s proposal.

Step-by-step explanation:

Answer 2

She says that she did not think she could turn down her husband’s proposal.

Step-by-step explanation:

Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll's House" revolves around Nora and her domestic life amidst her struggle to be independent and get the love and freedom she desires and deserved. The story deals with themes such as suppressed love, society's perception of what a woman is supposed to be, and the disparity between men and women.

In the given excerpt from the play, Nora asks her friend Mrs. Linde about her marriage and how she can marry her now-deceased husband. While Mrs. Linde revealed that she married him not because she loved him, but more of the need to survive. She had an ailing mother, and two younger brothers to take care of. And considering Mr. Linde's wealth and financial position, he was what could be the saving grace for her family. So, she married him and took the proposal as something that she couldn't turn down at that time.

Thus, the correct answer is the second option.