heroine Nora along several themes in the process of stirring up overwhelming amount of controversy.
             One of the first themes in the play is the contrast between surface appearances and reality. From the beginning, Nora possesses every characteristic of an obedient gentlewoman and a submissive wife, but the audience/readers know that this picture is simply mistaken: for instance, Nora, Torvald's cute "little squirrel," disobeys Torvald by eating macaroons behind his back. It is interesting to note that to squirrel something means to hide or store something away in a way quite similar to how Nora slips her macaroon bag in her pocket; Ibsen uses the word "squirrel" to signify the Nora who is cute and childish but at the same time points out her tendency to hide things from Torvald. In moving Nora in a stealthy fashion to eavesdrop on her husband's door, the playwrights further accentuates the parallelism between Nora's actions and the actions of a squirrel, but surely the last thing someone would think to compare a model housewife to would be a playful and secretive squirrel!
             Further disclosure of "squirreling" around by Nora arises when Nora informs Mrs. Linde about the true identity of the signer of the loan taken out for the purpose of funding the vacation to Italy Nora and Torvald took to improve Torvald's failing health at the time. Before Nora opens up to Mrs. Linde, everyone believes that Nora's father had granted the sum to her daughter and son-in-law, but in reality, Nora went behind Torvald's back and borrowed the money out of her own accord by forging her father's name. Not only the information about the loan break the appearance that the money for the trip came from Nora's father, the news also shatters the illusions that Nora and Torvald have a perfect marriage and their home stands free from debt.
             Nora proves to be a very crafty "squirrel" indeed: further proof of hidden reality occurs when Torvald accuses Nora o...