The constrictive nature of gender roles In A Doll’s House, Ibsen portrays a stereotypically gendered household with Torvald and Nora Helmer and then shows how characters—both male and female—suffer because of the roles society expects them to play. The constrictive nature of gender roles is especially apparent for the main female characters in the play, Nora and Mrs. Linde. Women at this time were expected to get married, have children, and stay at home to tend to their children and husband.