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In The Doll's House, do you think what Nora made the best decision--to go out from the doll's life and to leave her children?

I do think Nora made the right decision.  While the loss of her children is a shame, a greater loss would be her loss of identity.  When the children were grown, what would Nora have?  A husband without love or respect?  A life of subserviance and deceit? Given her options, Nora is quite brave to pursue her lonely, but worthy, path, in my opinion. 

Ibsen would agree with Jamie's response.  Everything about the play presents Nora's life with her husband as confining and at times insulting, in spite of the fact he thinks (and probably does) love her.  Ibsen wanted his 19C audience to understand the subtle nature of patriarchy, where what seems to be love and might indeed be love can nevertheless function as a way to silence the "self" in a woman.  As Ibsen saw it, marriage was about power as much as it might be about love, and that imbalances in power will necessarily infect love, distorting it so that it does not nurture and sustain but diminish what is best in us.  Even now society looks harshly at a woman who leaves her children, so you can imagine the response of Ibsen's 19C audience.

     I feel that Nora made a very selfish decision.  Leaving 3 children under any circumstance is difficult, however, her motive for leaving was selfish and self serving.

      She had been living in "The Dolls House" for along time.  It wasn't until her secret was revealed that she all of a sudden had this revelation of liberation.  It was an infantile response to a situation that could have been rectified. 

     Honestly, where will we find Nora in 5 years?  Living in another "Doll's House" being taken care of physically, emotionally and financially.  Her sudden liberation was purely out of humiliation and she managed to damage many innocent people.  How does she ever expect to explain her departure to her children?  I borrowed money to save your father's life, which I wasn't supposed to do and I forged my dying father's name.  I needed to leave to find myself.

      I feel that she never should have had children. Torvald is always being blamed for keeping up appearances, but she had those children for appearance sake only too.  Ibsen never portrayed her as a caring or concerned mother.  They were always off with the nurse.  What was she doing that was so important that she couldn't spend time with her children?  If she truly were a feminist, she would have broken the "nurse cycle" and tended to her offspring! 

I think that Nora's decision had both its good and bad sides. Yeah, it was pretty selfish of her to leave her children, but otherwise she would have always been trapped and would never show the world that you could leave your husband.

But I must say, what good did it do to her children for her to leave them? Would her children grow up to believe that their father's way was right? What would their attitude be towards marriage and the relationships between men and women later on in their life?

Nora had to make a very tough decision. She could have taken her children with her, but this could prevent her in discovering who she really was. Or leave her children.

This is a very tough question. As a mother, I cannot imagine ever leaving without my children...EVER.  It would kill me.  I cannot imagine, either, living as she did with her horrible husband.  I would've taken the kids and left LOL.

I believe that Nora made a completely selfish decision to leave Helmer and her children in search of her "identity."  She robs her children of a mother, and her husband of a wife.  Also, the children, who have less power than she, are the victims of her rampage for power.  They have no control of their situation and will grow up in the same society she did and just continue the cycle.  Though, had she not abandoned them, she could have bettered her situation and taught them not to give in to the same fake society as she had.  That would have been more responsible.

Nora's decision was also ignorant.  She left in search of her "identity" and to make something of her name.  Leaving and going somewhere else does not make her strong and will not give her individualism.  One who is strong preserves their identity and shows their true colors in even the most trying of circumstances.  For Nora to show true strength and individuality, she must show who she really is and stick to that, rather than being stubborn and acting like a child and trying to run away from her problems.

Nora's last decision is selfish. Not only did she leave for something that she could have done while staying, she left three children without a chance to grow up with her mother. When I read the first scene with her children I thought that she was a really good mother. What little kid does not love playing with their mother and having their attention? In her decision she did not think for a second the consequences this will bring to her children. Personally I lived away from my mom for two consecutive years. Those years I never thought about her personality I just thought how awesome it would be to have her around. Nora's children will not care if she has things she believes in, they will just want to be with her and enjoy their time with her. Someone said that it was the right decision because if she would have stayed what would her life been after her kids were older? My answer is that by that time she would have a better idea of who she is and could leave her "doll house" and even start a totally different life. My question is, "How can a mother not regret enjoying their children while they can?" After, and if, she finds herself she will have absolutely nothing. Her children will probably also hate her for thinking about herself before them. Nora will regret not being there with them and there will be nothing she can do to repair the damage she caused them. In sum, while trying to leave her "doll house", she changed her children's future.

I do not believe Nora made the right decisions. What she did was rash and irresponsible. Nora was running away from her problems and leaving her children with the man that she was trying to get away from. Why would someone put their kids in a situation that they themselves were escaping? She could have taken her children with her but there was no reason for her to walk out on them as her mother did to her.  This is probably where the motivation came from, but that does not make it right. You would think that the abandonment Nora felt when her mother left would cause Nora to never want her children to feel that same way.