In his play "A Doll's House", Henrik Ibsen gives the audience an insight into life in Norway in the 19th century and the injustices that existed in society at the time . Throughout the story, Ibsen uses the relationship between Nora and Torvald as a vehicle through which he explores the constitution of marriage and the morality of this type of relationship, particularly the rigid gender roles that predominated within society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get an original essay In the play, a woman is supposed to accept her role in society, acquiescing to her husband in all things, subtly emphasizing the inequality of this role. , Ibsen explores the morality of their relationship. One of the first things Torvald says to his wife is "You must not disturb me!" Here, the imperative creates a very strong tone, establishing an unequal power dynamic within the relationship, indicative of the inequalities that existed between men and women in the mid-19th century. Men adopted the dominant role that was so natural to them in a phallocentric culture, in which women were denied the same rights as men. Critic Brian Downs states, "When Henrik Ibsen wrote A Doll's House, the institution of marriage was sacrosanct," and this notion is underlined by the way Nora and Torvald naturally adopt clearly defined marital roles, even though it leads to questioning the morality of their relationship. Indeed, these marital roles were unequal in that the man bears the weight of power within the relationship. Furthermore, through the fact that Nora in no way denies having been denigrated by her husband, Ibsen severely criticizes the way in which Norwegian women of the 19th century had been conditioned by society to ignore this type of behavior, to the point of not don't even recognize the injustice. Indeed, Torvald's aggressive speech towards Nora, as well as his apparent ignorance of the inequality of their marriage, leads the audience to question the morality of their marriage, while Ibsen subtly criticizes the constitution. Additionally, Nora's dishonest nature is prominent throughout the text. , as she repeatedly lies to her husband; this implies that Nora does not value morality as an important aspect of marriage. When Torvald asks her whether or not she indulged in a treat from the pastry shop, Nora responds emphatically with "Certainly not." The ease with which Nora is able to lie to her husband suggests that it is second nature to her, perhaps even impulsive; the fact that Nora has this level of disrespect for her husband's trust in her says a lot about how women viewed marriage in the 19th century. Women did not necessarily marry out of love, but rather out of obligation or lack of money or status; this view does not bode well for a woman's moral responsibility in a relationship: if she does not love her husband, she is more likely to disregard the moral responsibility that a spouse places on his partner. However, Nora seems to have Torvard's best interests at heart, after all, "it was [she] who saved Torvald's life", and it can be inferred that Nora truly loves Torvald. However, it could be argued that at this point in the narrative, Ibsen is subtly implying that Nora is mistaken, as marriage in the 19th century was an institution traditionally rooted in patriarchy that promotes male superiority and power over women. This is what leads the reader to wonder how a woman of the time could be truly happy in a relationship of this nature, and even if the apparent satisfaction.