Torvald clearly feels entitled as the man of the house to claim to know and insist on the correct way that a household should run. He is the breadwinner and can be seen as the more levelheaded of the two because he understands the costs of borrowing money rather than earning it before spending it. For those reasons, he seems somewhat justified in giving his wife advice about how to manage finances. He also seems to know from experience that his advice will not be heeded, as when he tells Nora, "That's very true,—all you can. But you can't save anything!"
But his repeated pet names for Nora go beyond expressing endearment and wishing to give helpful advice. Instead, they serve to show that he is the wiser superior of the two. In particular, when he talks to Nora in the third person and mixes in criticisms of her wanton ways, it definitely feels like he is patronizing her:
HELMER (Wagging his finger at her): Hasn't Miss Sweet Tooth been breaking rules in town today?
This line is syrupy sweet in tone and feels like something a parent would say to a young child, not an adult speaking to another adult. Nora's need, in turn, to lie to him and say she had not bought or eaten sweets—even though she gave him her word—suggests that the chasm between the two is deep. She may indeed be childlike by his standards. Yet we soon see that Torvald’s patronizing treatment of Nora does not force her into a helpless role or reflect her true position in their marriage. Far from being powerless, Nora finds ways to assert herself.
