In Henrik Ibsen’s famous play The Doll’s House, ‘macaroons’ symbolise defiance and independence. In the very first scene of the Norwegian play, which first premiered in Denmark on December 21, 1879, Torvald teasingly inquires if his wife Nora has been indulging her sweet tooth while out on Christmas shopping. Nora is first shown eating ‘macaroons’ before quickly erasing all traces of her guilty pleasure in the company of her authoritarian husband.
The ‘macaroons’ come as the first hint of Nora’s little rebellion against her suppressed existence in the “doll’s house”. While Ibsen’s ‘macaroons’ most likely did not look like the coloured sandwich cookies we see at French patisseries, he definitely was referring to a version of the dessert made with almond flour and meringue.
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