Nneora: An African Doll's House: A study of the virtues of womanhood

Abstract

Transcreation is a term used in post-colonial discourse to denote works which have been translated from one language and culture into another and assume a significantly new quality. In this paper I discuss one such transcreation of Henrik Ibsen’s late 19th century play, A Doll’s House, into a 21st century Nigerian play, Nneora: An African Doll’s House by Tracie Chimo Utoh-Ezeajugh. That Ibsen’s play and his unforgettable Nora have translated so well into a relevant Nigerian play with clearly identifiable perspectives and parallel themes is a mark of Ibsen’s mastery and understanding of human character; which, it may be argued, forms the basis of the possibilities of such transcreations. It is the human element, which is universally recognisable, that makes it possible for a play written centuries earlier to have abiding relevance when translated into another culture in another time.