A House in RuinIn "A Doll's House" by Henrik Ibsen, the most important topic of the story is marriage. “Till death do us part” well, not always. Everywhere you look, divorce plagues society. Precious marriage vows have become nothing more than a promise made to be broken. A Doll's House is a great example of a relationship that didn't work out. To keep a marriage alive and well it must maintain certain qualities: love, communication, trust and loyalty. With these qualities, any marriage is bound to work. Without love a relationship couldn't even begin. The basis of Nora and Torvald's relationship seems to be centered around love, but this isn't exactly achieved. Torvald does not truly love Nora in a mature way; he just looks at her like another child. He has many nicknames for his wife, including "lark" and "squirrel", which are small animals and used as symbols of foreshadowing. Using these symbols, Torvald considers his wife smaller than him and therefore easy to control. He always refers to Nora as my something. “Is that my lark chirping out there?” and “Is my little squirrel getting busy?” (438) He emphasizes the 'my' which makes him think that he owns his wife and is in control of her. Calling his wife names like "lark", "squirrel", and "spendthrift", Torvald does not love his wife with the respect and sensitivity that a man should. He gives Nora a check but thinks she spends it frivolously. "What do you call the little people who always waste money? He's a sweet spender. You wouldn't believe how much these little people cost" (439) Here Nora is once again called a subordinate little creature. Torvald is so worried about... middle of paper... about his wife. Nora and Torvald's marriage fails because they lack all the requirements for a successful marriage and because of Torvald's control over his family. Before leaving, Nora says to Torvald, "But our house has been nothing but a playroom. I have been your doll-wife, just as at home I was Daddy's little-girl doll; and here the children have been my dolls. I thought so." a lot of fun when you played with me, just like they thought it was a lot of fun when I played with them. So was our wedding, Torvald. (491) Nora wants change. Marriage is a two-way street and to ensure a wonderful and happy life together, any kind of dollhouse must be demolished. Works Cited Ibsen, Henrik. "A doll's house." Literature as a human experience. Shorter 8th edition. Eds. Richard Abcarian and Marvin Klotz. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins. 2004. 437-495.