‘A Doll’s House’ by Henrik Ibson was originally published and written in Norwegian. This means that it would have had to have been translated so that we can now read it. In each language there is a range of sayings and tones that are not present or make sense in another language. This raises the question of whether the text which we read now conveys the original meaning and ideas. It is highly possible that certain words and phrases have been translated to mean something else resulting in a different overall meaning. Another thing to consider is the role of the translator when translating. Bias and personal opinions are likely to have been fed into the piece to convey a specific idea. This makes it important to think about where the text has come from and why it was translated. However it may not be the translator which has changed the meaning and simply words and phrases that have been lost when translating. In conclusion, when analysing and interpreting ‘A Doll’s House’ or any piece of translated literature it is important to think about where it came from and the language from which it was translated from as well as the translator themselves
