One of the main commentaries that Ibsen makes about the way society functions is that women feel the need to conceal their true identities from men. By doing so, women only show the agreeable facets of their personality to make their marriages work. It is seen as their duty to facilitate their husbands’ lives, so appearances are everything. Using the Christmas tree and certain animals as symbolic representations, the author suggests that there is more to women than apparent. Accordingly, men place great importance on the external aspect of a woman and treat the female sex as objects. Although in “A Doll’s House” it is evident that Torvald has great affection for his wife, assuring Nora that “(…) we’ll share everything, Nora – as man and wife. As it should be.” (p. 53), it is equally obvious that their relationship is superficial and flawed. Influenced by society, Helmer does not regard Nora as an equal. He is condescending and possessive towards her: “Nora, my Nora, that is just like a woman.” (p. 03), as if she were an object of some kind, as opposed to a multi-faceted character. To emphasize this male portrayal of women, Ibsen correlates a Christmas tree to Nora, who, like Nora, is purely ornamental and adds no use to the household. Immediately in the play, Nora is worried with the Christmas tree, ordering the maid to “(…) hide it away safely (…) Until this evening. The children can’t see it until it’s decorated.” (p.1). Similarly, Nora hides the fact that she has saved her husband’s life, playing the role of the lively, superficial wife. Even as Nora tries to manipulate Torvald into keeping Krogstad’s job, she draws attention to the Christmas tree and “the red flowers – they look so lovely.” (p. 39). Just as she distracts Torvald with the tree’s adornments, hiding her intentions, Nora puts on a facade to divert everyone from her real personality. Being the master of appearances, it is only when Nora’s life is disintegrating that “(…) the Christmas tree stands, stripped of presents, dishevelled and with the remains of burned down candles.” (p. 42), symbolising her devastation as she faces the shallowness of her marriage and Torvald’s controlling nature.
Portraying the typical man, Torvald does not view Nora as an equal. Her function is to amuse Torvald at his own leisure and project the appearance of a cheerful person. In turn, he associates her with animals such as “ (…) my little skylark” (p. 3), “squirrel (…)” (p. 2) and “(…) my little songbird” (p. 41), who may normally reflect charming qualities, but belong to the wilderness. They are regarded as weak animals, susceptible to any difficulty, reflecting Helmer’s view of Nora and the fragility of Nora’s position as his wife. Like the animals that do not belong in a cage, Nora feels trapped within her own marriage and will never truly be satisfied until she is autonomous and free.
Furthermore, Ibsen employs the symbol of the macaroons as a manifestation of Nora’s rebellion as well as the deceit present in her marriage. As a child is forbidden to eat candy by her parents, Nora’s love for macaroons is censured by Torvald. Assuming a parental role, Torvald questions Nora: “Was a sweet tooth indulged in town today by any chance?” (p. 06), denying her the right to eat whatever she wishes. In turn, Nora hides the pleasure she takes in eating macaroons and lies to Torvald, affirming that “No, I swear it (…)” (p.06) and “Absolutely not.” (p.06). Not only does she feel the need to lie directly to her husband, but she has little strength of character in the beginning of the play. She does not stand up for herself: “Everything as you wish, Torvald.” (p. 03) and meekly accepts rules established by her husband. Still, seeing as the main focus of “A Doll’s House”’ is to show the gradual change in Nora’s character, the macaroons play an important in the play. Recurrent throughout the play, they signal how Nora changes from the submissive wife to an independent woman. If initially Nora hides the macaroons and lies about them, as the drama develops, Nora gains more confidence in eating and showing her love for the sweets. As she realises the powerful position that Torvald has just been offered at the bank, feeling good-humoured, “(she takes a bag out of her pocket) (…)” and offers “A little macaroon, Dr. Rank?” (p. 23). Even though she then lies about the macaroons, insisting that “(…) Kristine gave me these.” (p. 24), already Nora is unafraid to reveal her disobedience towards Torvald and expresses her own tastes.
Although presented as a sign of suppression, the macaroons show Nora’s disobedience, which already indicates a certain solidity and sureness of character. Even if Torvald takes control
To avoid confrontation with Torvald, or more importantly with the truth about her marriage, Nora constantly deceives her husband.
