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I also agree with everyone, eating the Macaroons for Nora is her childish way of craving independence.  This first act of rebellion seems to be nothing too important at first, but in actuality this small act leads to the others and eventually to her having the courage and strength to rebel and leave Torvald for the rest  of her life.  The Macaroons helped Nora remain calm and pretty when since the very beginning of the story it is obvious Nora did not feel completely comfortable there.

The idea of macaroons illustrates the prominance of men in this play. The man's rules that she is going against demonstrates her rebellious attitude that occurs throughout the play. By offering macaroons to other men she is showing that she isn't scared to go against her husband although face-to-face she doesnt have the courage to act like that

I agree that the macaroons represent Nora's desire to leave Torvald. She is always finding ways to rebel against his word, and this is a satisfying one. He does not want his precious trophy wife to loose her wonderful figure or rot her beautiful smile.

Also, the portray a sense of innocence and childness in Nora. Even though she broke the law and tries to deal with many adult problems, we cannot help associating her with a child. Her sweet tooth portrays a childish habit.

I agree with most of you on the purpose of the macaroons in the story. They frighten Torvald because they have the power to destroy Nora's beauty, and without her beauty, she then loses the only thing she has over the other women around her. Beauty keeps Nora wealthy, married, and happy, and without this undeniable beauty she will fall apart. Deep down, torvald knows this, and it motivates him to shun her away from eating macaroons

I would have to agree with the username "tdigilio." I believe that the macaroons not only are a way for Nora to rebel, but they also scare Torvald.  Nora's beauty is one of the only ways Torvald can find happiness in life, and all of this could be taken away from him if she were to eat too many sweets. We all know what would happen to Nora if she ate too many chocolates!

The macaroons are a manifestation of the trouble brewing beneath the surface of Nora and Torvalds marriage. If Nora is lying to Torvald about as small a thing as the macaroons, Torvald should be very concerned. Nora is lying about things that really don't matter. This should tip Torvald of that she may be lying about bigger things. The macaroons are just the tip of the iceberg.

It is interesting that you bring up the idea of "temptation" -the macaroons could be seen as an allusion to Adam & Eve and the forbidden fruit. Nora is Eve. The macaroons are the forbidden fruit which give knowledge - and the knowledge in this case is freedom and independence from Torvald. In the story, Eve gives the fruit to Adam, and he is corrupted as well. All the others to whom Nora offers the macaroons are Adam: Rank and Kristine.

If Nora then, is Eve, and Rank & Kristine are Adam, then who is the devil and who is God?

The fact that Torvald monitors even what Nora eats shows the degree of his obsessive control. That she feels it necessary to pretend to follow his orders rather than standing up for herself shows how thoroughly he has intimidated her. For her to continue to eat what she wants, however, shows that she may be intimidated, but he hasn't broken her spirit entirely or destroyed her identity entirely. Nora still owns enough of herself to eventually find her way back to independence and self-respect.