w Nora is acting, or how she needs to be portrayed. For instance: Not even a dozen lines into Act I, Torvald asks (referring to Nora), "Is that my little lark twittering out there" and "Is that my squirrel rummaging around?" A lark is a songbird; a happy, carefree bird. It is can also be used as a verb that means to engage in spirited fun or merry pranks. A squirrel is quite the opposite: it is a small, furry rodent. If you are to squirrel away something, you were hiding or storing it, kind of like what Nora was doing with her bag of macaroons. Torvald calls her these names to fit the situation. Nora was definitely a care free woman, just like a lark, and Torvald refers to her as such: "my little lark." When he says that, Nora is moving around the room and humming with a carefree spirit that would characterize a lark. Whenever she has this spirit, Torvald refers to her as his "little lark." On the other hand, Nora must be some sort of scrounge, because Torvald also refers to her as his "little squirrel." He asks if "that is my squirrel rummaging around." It seems that maybe Ibsen was using this imagery to show that Nora was burying something deep down inside-maybe the macaroons or the knowledge of the promissory note-and that Torvald might have known about it (but I doubt it). Throughout the play Torvald refers to Nora as his lark, or songbird; two birds that are stereotypically peaceful, carefree, happy birds. At least on the outside. On the inside the birds may have many struggles, but they don't show it, much like Nora avoids doing it. Torvald does not know the difference. He thinks Nora is always happy, never sad, and energetic-characteristics of the song bird (at least on the out side). Later, in Act II, Nora tells Torvald that she would "be a wood nymph and dance for you in the moonlight." A wood nymph is a beautiful hummingbird that is graceful in flight, much like Nora wants to be for Torvald when she dances. She wants Torvald t...
