In life, people make many different promises to themselves. They promise to obey the law, to eat better, be good students, and good friends. But the promise that people make when they get married will be one of the most important promises in their entire life. A marriage is based on trust and love and the promise to be the best partner possible.
             The idea of marriage is one of great controversy. Many people have different views of what marriage really means. According to Webster's Third New International Dictionary 1996, marriage is defined as "the legal or religious ceremony that formalizes the decision of a man and woman to live as husband and wife, including the accompanying social festivities". It is a joining of two different worlds, hoping to combine without serious structural damage. Marriages should be based on total trust and togetherness, and without this, a marriage cannot last. Marriage is about knowing the good as well as the bad, the thrills and joys versus the pain and sadness. Though this is what marriage should be, very few can say that is what their marriage is about.
             In Henrik Ibsen's A "Doll House", marriage is the biggest problem in the characters lives. Nora and Helmer are both busy people within their own lives. Little do they know that their marriage is not safe due to the fact that it is not given first priority in the lives they lead. The problems that they observe begin and end in their home. Helmer is very protective when it comes to the family image that is portrayed to the public. This is because his career, as a lawyer, depends on it. He feels that he needs to have a perfect public image and would easily trade his family for his image. This is seen when he discovers a letter from a bank that his wife, Nora, gets a loan from. He finds out that the loan was acquired illegally through forgery. Helmer immediately strips her of all her rights to him as his
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