19th century life differs little from the life we ​​are accustomed to in the 21st century. Edith Wharton and Henrik Ibsen both capture how, when love and rivalry is intertwined with friendship, it generates deception, the production of appearances that are not reality is inevitable. of deception and women in the 19th century all present themselves in a highly recognizable way in the play A Doll's House and in the story “Roman Fever”. Henrik Ibsen portrays appearance versus reality in each character in the play of individuals only to be shocked by the truth in the end as a submissive, materialistic, and childish woman She appears to be a “spendthrift” (Ibsen 609), squandering money on her material desires selfish. Her husband, Torvald, treats her like a child, calling her only by a sweet nickname, "Is that my little lark chirping out there?...When did my squirrel come in?" (Ibsen 609). He is often busy and does not give Nora an equal share in the marriage, once again diminishing her potential. This perception of Nora is supported not only by her husband in the way he speaks condescendingly to her. but Nora's friend Mrs. Linde also sees her as an inexperienced woman. Evidence of this is when Mrs. Linde says to Nora, "[W]hilst you yourself know so little of the burden of life" (Ibsen 616 is seen as). a trophy wife, who has little problems to deal with while having fun shopping. Despite the evidence that Nora is perhaps really a "doll", as the show progresses we find ourselves faced with a Nora who is instead very the opposite of the first Nora of the image of Nora with......half of the sheet...... suggests that she may have convinced her late husband that he was the father, since we learned that he married very soon after returning from Rome and recovering from his illness. The themes of Appearance and Reality and Deception are connected, because when you pretend to be what you are not there is a need for lies. Both of these works fascinate the 21st century reader because they are universal, and it is very interesting to know that people's scandalous lives do not differ much from century to century. Works Cited Ibsen, Henrik. A doll's house. Responding to literature: short stories, poems, plays, and essays. Fifth ed. Judith A. Stanford. New York: McGraw Hill, 2006. 608-664. Print.Wharton, Edith. "Roman fever". Responding to literature: short stories, poems, plays, and essays. Fifth ed. Judith A. Stanford. New York: McGraw Hill, 2006. 547-557. Press.