Macaroons: Noras Outlet for Freedom - Essay Example

During the course of Henry Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, many symbols are used to further aide in the play’s story-telling. One of the most powerful is also perhaps one that could be easily overlooked: the macaroon. Consumed by Nora through Acts I and II, the presence of these macaroons allows the audience to form a multifaceted view of the true dilemma the play’s heroine faced. Through the macaroon the audience is able to analyze: Nora’s indulgent traits, her rebellious desire for independence and the degree to which Helmer controls her.

The macaroon makes its first appearance when Nora arrives home from shopping. It is consumed after Nora does a series of indulgent things, mainly being the shopping trip in itself and over-tipping her porter. The macaroon becomes her special little treat that is the perfect ‘end’ to her delightful day. She will continue her indulgence when she decides to hide more macaroons in her pocket, since she is uncomfortable letting Helmer know she is eating them. The irony in this lies in the fact that she seems to have no problem revealing other aspects of her indulgence; letting Helmer know what she bought during her shopping trip and even saying that they can buy things on credit if they run out of money.

She does this even in the midst of criticism. Yet, she consistently hides consumption or the desire to consume her macaroons. So for her, it was something that she felt she had some control over. Regardless, none of these indulgent behaviors really showed ‘true’ power. In fact, her lack of frugality played right into Helmer’s stereotypical mindset of women. On some level she knew this and exploited it, at least those elements that made Helmer feel he was truly providing for her.