Marital Lessons from a Doll's HouseDivorce has become widely accepted throughout the world. In today's world, the violent tearing apart of a family is ignored like the daily weather. The Norwegian play A Doll's House, by Henrik Ibsen, is a great example of a marriage that didn't work. Torvald and Nora Helmer's marriage experienced many problems as husband and wife were unable to discover the secrets of marital happiness. For a marriage to stay alive and grow, it must respect four qualities: love, communication, trust and loyalty, and perseverance. With the incorporation of these qualities, any marriage would work. Without love, a relationship probably wouldn't even begin. Two people meet, a friendship is formed, and soon a romance blossoms. Although the basis of Nora and Torvald's relationship seemed to center around love, the necessary balance was not achieved. Torvald didn't really like Nora; to him, she was just another child. He said, "And I wouldn't want you to be any different than you are, just my sweet little songbird." But now that I think about it, you seem rather-rather-how shall I put it? -a bit as if you had done something stupid today” (151). Calling his wife names such as "lark", "squirrel", and "spendthrift", Torvald does not love his wife with the respect and sensitivity that a man should deserve. The main area in which Torvald showed his lack of love for Nora was how he ran his household. Torvald was the owner of what he believed to be a perfect dollhouse. This dollhouse was first controlled by Nora's overbearing father, and once Nora married, the titles and deeds of this dollhouse were handed over to Torvald. Torvald manipulated Nora, and then the children through her, according to his desires, sure never to lose control of his precious dollhouse. This lack of love and imperious attitude would eventually ruin their marriage. Nora was the only one of the two partners who showed love for each other in this room. Against all odds a woman faced in the late 19th century, Nora went behind her husband's back, borrowed a large sum of money, forged her father's signature, and continued to pay it back in the I hope Torvald never hears about it. She refused to be a doll and alternated personalities between "Torvald's little lark" and "Nora the intelligent and strong woman »..