Dr Rank is the Helmers’ close friend, particularly Torvald. He’s a minor character in the play since his actions don’t impact the plot too much. As a result, we often overlook his significance. Initially, Ibsen used Dr Rank as a source of exposition since we find out a lot of background information through his conversations. An example of this is Dr Rank revealing Krogstad’s moral corruption. We also find out that Dr Rank has a very realistic worldview as he is very upfront about his impending death, though he does not tell Torvald about his health since Torvald does not like discussing such matters. We start to see Dr Rank’s significance when he suddenly confesses to Nora after flirting with her. Although Nora rejects him, this is important to Nora’s development as her shock to his genuine response allows her to realise how her actions (and Torvald’s actions) are inappropriate since it puts her in a humiliating position. This results in Nora deciding against the idea of asking for financial help from him.
