In both Ibsen's "A Doll's House" and Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, we see the controversial subject of morality versus the law. In Ibsen's story, Nora breaks the law in order to save her husband's life. In Taming of the Shrew, Lucentio lies to be able to marry the woman he loves. Should this be allowed?.
If there was a Maslow's Triangle for society like there is for the individual, law would be at the bottom of it. Without law, society turns into anarchy, and we've seen this happen throughout history. There are exceptions to everything, even the law. Unusual circumstances can sometimes justify one's disobeying the law. The definition of "the law" as being used here can be expanded to include lying. In both of the stories previously mentioned, there are unusual circumstances in which the characters must go against what is right in order to obtain what is good. .
In "A Doll's House", Nora takes out a loan in order to move to Italy because her husband needs to live in a warm climate to recuperate from his illness. However, in order to take out this loan, she is forced to forge her father's signature for he has passed away only a few days earlier. At the time, this was a serious crime. You would lose your reputation in society and go to prison. Although her actions were against the law, they were definitely for a good cause. Nora saved her husband's life, and whatever laws she broke in doing so should be disregarded, except of course if she put someone else's life in danger. Nichomachean ethics suggest the same thing, that all should aim towards good, and things like small laws shouldn't stand in our way.
In Taming of the Shrew, Lucentio lies to Bianca's father by having one of his servant's pose as his father. He needs to have his father confirm a sum of money that he is giving to Bianca for their marriage, so he has his servant dress up and pretend to be his father. Although he is lying to Baptista, Bianca's father, he is still doing good by giving the money and marrying Bianca, even if the money isn't "legitimate".
