In Act 3, As she defends her decision to leave her family, Nora makes one of the most dramatic speeches of the play. In what way does it summarize the major themes of the play?

It is her epiphany. It is where she breaks out of the mold that has held her. The fact that Nora says that she has been greatly wronged is very important because it shows how she understands that she has been served an injustice by being overly controlled throughout her life. It's important that she realizes that her father and her husband have put her in the exact same situation I think that it is interesting how she says that if she differed from him she concealed that fact because he would not have liked it. That she was that concerned about his needs over hers. The comparison made between her and a doll is quite striking as it show just how little control that she did have in her life. To say that he played with her as she played with her dolls shows how little concern he truly had for her and her well being.

Nora's story speaks to the women of the time and all future that are held against their will by the power of those men who claim to love them. Love can't be found when there are unequal liberties granted to both parties. That in such disproportionate situations there can be no mutual foundation of trust and stability to embark on such a romantic enterprise. Essentially this is the heart of the play. This is what all the imagery and symbolism works up to is that man and woman have to be equals for the relationship to be mutually fulfilling.