Significance of sweets in the movie `A Doll House`

In Henrik Ibsen 's A Doll 's House , the relationship between the characters of Nora and Torvald Helmer is the main focus of the theme of the play . Throughout the play , and the film based upon this famous work of fiction , there are many instances where the reader can see significance in trivial , inconsequential things that Nora does , or Torvald says . One important example of this type of symbolism used by Ibsen to convey meaning beyond the surface of an event is seen in the sneaking of the macaroons by Nora throughout the

play . Taking a deeper look into the significance of this symbol , and understanding that the macaroons are symbolic of Nora 's defiance and lying , throughout the play we can better understand the relationship between Nora and Torvald , and most importantly about the way Nora feels about herself and her life with her husband

When we are first introduced to the character of Nora Helmer we find her having just come home from a shopping trip , and she is eating macaroons that she had purchased . Her husband , Torvald , comes in to speak to her and almost jovially asks her , Hasn 't Miss Sweet-Tooth been breaking rules in town today , which she quickly denies (Ibsen , Act I , Scene I . This seems like a trivial thing for a wife to lie about to her husband especially considering the fact that Torvald is not acting upset about the macaroons , but instead seems to be teasing her in a joking way . At deeper examination , and as we continue to view the play , we begin to understand that the macaroons have an extremely important symbolic meaning . They represent the constant deceptive life that Nora has to lead in to keep her husband happy . She does not feel secure enough in her marriage to even admit to eating macaroons to her husband for fear of his dissatisfaction with her . If she admits this , she is admitting that she has been lying to him constantly and that his picture of his wife that he has in his head in not real , and for Torvald it is all about the appearance , as he professes in the final scene of the play . The macaroons also come up in her dealings with Rank , a sure sign that they represent a larger issue in Nora 's life , like deceiving her husband by forging the name for a loan . When she offers a macaroon to Dr . Rank , he says , What , macaroons ? I thought they were forbidden here (Ibsen , Act I , Scene I . She has to lie to him , saying they were given to her by Mrs . Linde in to make it seem like it was right for her to eat them . She has to defend her simple decision to eat a macaroon just as she has to defend her decision to forge the signature on the loan

Why Ibsen chose sweets as a symbol of lies and deception on the part of Nora and within the Helmer 's...