Ibsen’s plays "A Doll's House" and "The Lady from the Sea," immerse the audience into the lives of two Victorian middle-class families. The marriages within these families are a major theme; however, one play ends with the enlightenment and improvement of the marriage while the other one shatters into a broken fairy tale. Ibsen demonstrates the idea that marriage of true minds where the two spouses must share in the same goals and views is essential to a successful marriage. "A Doll's House" introduces the reader to a young family that isn’t necessarily happy. The family came from rough beginnings financially, although, has recently improved their situation due to the husband’s promotion to bank manager. The wife, Nora, is quite literally a child, who is given an allowance and seems to play the part of a doll. Her sole purpose in the marriage appears to be to please and tend to the family, especially the husband, Torvald. There is not any authentic conversation between the two spouses; rather, the husband treats the wife like a doll. He gives her an allowance which she quickly blows through irresponsibly, and then scolds her. Nora is left feeling useless but ignorantly blissful, kept at bay with the meaningless materials she acquires. One action that provides Nora with a justification for her existence is the trip to Italy which saves Torvald’s life; this would not be possible without Nora. It is revealed soon within the play that Nora actually performed a seedy deed in order to save Torvald’s life earlier on in their marriage. She finds solace in revealing the burdens of her mind and heart to an old friend named Christine Lidhe. This seedy deed offers Nora some purpose and ease of mind that she is not actually a useless doll meant for play. Nora sees that by taking out a loan and using a forged signature she appears to have made an important decision to save her husband’s life. However, she has fooled Torvald into thinking she has saved his life that way by making him believe that her fat