Albert Goldman (who I know was often full of BS) gave what I thought a good interpretation of the story. He claimed that ‘Norwegian Wood’ was a decorating style, like ‘Danish Modern’. The woman had asked, “isn’t it good”, in other words, “You like how my apartment is done up?”
Goldman claimed that Lennon *did *sleep with the woman (but that in 1965, admitting to adultery outright would not have been acceptable to the stodgy record label owner Sir Joseph Lockwood ) so Lennon made up the part about sleeping in the bath.
But unchanged was the fact that when he woke up, the woman had gone off to work.
The refrain of, “isn’t it good?” was Lennon’s reflection in front of the fireplace on how much more comfortable he felt amid the then-new sex roles, where women could be independent, with their own jobs and apartments. This was understandable given that he was raised by a single mother, and later a single aunt.
And, absolutely one of the most beautiful sad melodies ever, by Lennon or anyone else.