In 1879, a highly controversial literary work premiered at the Royal Theater in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was a play called A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen. Ibsen was born in 1828 into a wealthy family in Norway that later went bankrupt. After a few years in a mundane job, he fled to Italy and Germany, where he produced some of his most famous works, including this one. “A Doll House” illustrates the issues of feminism and the institution of marriage in the 19th century. The main character, Nora Helmer, begins as a submissive housewife to her husband, Torvald Helmer, who controls her behavior, finances, and eating habits. However, at the end of the play, after realizing that she was simply living as a doll-woman, NoraA's marriage is not to be taken lightly and cannot be walked away from at any time. However, critic Katherine M. Rogers suggested, in her essay "Feminism and A Doll House," that this play posits the "falsities of 19th-century patriarchal marriage" (2nd edition). First of all, Nora and Torvald's relationship is not an equal partnership. Throughout the play, Torvald treats Nora not as his adult wife, but as his child and pet, calling her "little lark,...squirrel" and controlling every aspect of her life (Ibsen 889). They are neither lovers nor spouses, but master and servant. Second, the Helmer marriage is already weak in its foundations. Their interaction is superficial; in 8 years, they have “never exchanged a serious word about anything serious” (Ibsen 936). They discuss parties and dresses, but of anything intellectual their conversation consists solely of Torvald's lectures. Nora doesn’t dare say “to hell with it!” ” in front of Torvald and she resorted to manipulation to give Mrs. Linde a position, which shows that she cannot be honest with her husband. They don't understand each other, or rather understand each other poorly, because they never speak to each other. Obviously, there is no real or true marriage to maintain in the first place, as Nora already points out. If Nora decides to leave her dollhouse, aka her prison, on a journey of self-discovery, then Nora devotes herself to her family; she stayed by Torvald's side when he was ill and she borrowed money to save him without telling him, fearing it would damage his pride. Then, when it's Torvald's turn to play the hero, he willingly trades their eight years of marriage for his reputation. As he says, “there is no [man] who forsakes honor for love” (Ibsen 939). His immediate reaction to Krogstad's letter is to "silence [the threat] at all costs [and] continue living in this house [in order to save] the pieces, the appearance" (Ibsen 934). The only worry that crosses his mind is how others will judge him; he is ready to present his dollhouse just to maintain an image. If an eight year marriage is less important than a man's reputation/pride, then why is it enough to suppress a woman's reputation ?