Cayla Scott
Hist 385
Dr. Salau
September 29, 2016
So Long a Letter Analysis Paper
The differences between Senegalese men and women are highlighted within the pages of a fictional work that spans a changing West Africa during a time when women’s liberation was gaining momentum across the world. In Mariama Bâ’s So Long a Letter, she tells the story of Ramatoulaye Fall and her lifelong friend Aissatou Bâ through their correspondence. The correspondence highlights the challenges between men and women in Senegal Islam and African society. Within the letter, we see a variety of themes including a struggle for money, class struggle, an importance placed on education, and changing social climates. Mariama Bâ exemplifies these changes is West Africa with stories through the eyes of Ramatoulaye Fall and her family.
Repeatedly in the novel there is an exchange of bank notes that causes in turn an exchange of emotions. From the writing, there is an obvious importance of exchange of money in the eyes of the women. To women money is power, freedom, and choices; therefore, emancipating women encounters the road block that is depending on husbands for their essential needs. At the funeral of Ramatoulaye’s husband, Modou, we see a great exchange of money. Ramatoulaye explains from this money her in-laws will receive most of the benefits and leave her mostly penniless despite her favor among the many visitors. Ramatoulaye demonstrates that greed is strong repeatedly. In her marriage, she speaks of her mother in-laws visits where she left
Scott 2
happy with bank notes in hand, and then again when she tells the story of the new wife Binetou. With the new wife came new privileges; therefore, the mother-in-law encouraged the forgotten first wife. Ramatoulaye explains that the mother-in-law quickly forgot her humble beginning and grew accustomed to the many comforts her son now provided.
The Mother-in-law also disliked Ramatoulaye for her class or for the parents to which she was born to. She was a gold-smith’s daughter and she believed that she burned everything in her path which was very bad for her son. Despite this disdain, Ramatoulaye’s mother-in-law did not drive Modou away like Aissatou Bâ’s mother-in-law, Aunty Nabou. She believed Aissatou to be beneath her since she was a princess and therefore her son was the son of a princess. As a result, she tried to take revenge against Aissatou by adopting her niece Nabou and rearing her in the traditional way. Once she was of age, Aunty Nabou offered Nabou’s hand in marriage to her son. So that he did not offend his mother and to fulfill prince traditions he was obligated to take Nabou as his second wife despite his reservations. Aissatou rejected this arrangement and divorced Mawdo. Aissatou moved with her four sons to the United States where she continued her education and became quite successful at the Senegalese embassy eventually permanently immigrating.
Education had been important to both Aissatou and Ramatoulaye throughout the novel. They contributed to young people’s educations believing that they were shaping the minds of the future. They helped to provide a new education for boys and girls where both the rich and poor could receive an opportunity. From the text, it is obvious that both women were cutting edge feminists. We see this especially in the political scene where Ramatoulaye discussed politics with Daouda Dieng, a suitor from the past. She argues that women have the equal right to an
Scott 3
education, to equal opportunity, to well-paid employment, and that the right to vote is an important weapon (Bâ, 63). She then goes on to ask Daouda, “When will we have the first female minister involved in the decisions concerning the development of our country?” (Bâ, 63). She was overjoyed to let her ideas free again. Ideas that she had once expressed as a younger version of herself. Ideas that both she and Aissatou had expressed.
There idealism and education was reflected in the men they chose to marry that were both modern in their views. Aissatou choosing Mawdo, a caring doctor, that married a goldsmith’s daughter despite his higher class. Ramatoulaye married the man her mother remembered as the “eternal khaki suit” against her mother’s wishes, her mother instead wished she had chosen a man that she loved less and that had loved her more because that was the key to happiness. Yet, Modou wanted to change the country’s future through his work as a lawyer and this appealed to Ramatoulaye.
The changing social climates are emphasized throughout the novel as both Ramatoulaye and Aissatou fight to overcome the male patriarchy within the Senegalese society. As West Africa itself moves towards independence so do both women. Symbolizing in the novel change and growth within their time. This emphasis on rising up through education gives women more opportunities while less education leaves women with few options but to submit to male patriarchy. Through the narrative these women’s lives give examples of how tradition can be changed and women can be successful outside of the patriarchal system. Ramatoulaye still stays true to many of her customs and beliefs yet manages to be independent. For instance, as she thinks about her friend and the changes that will have overcome her, she thinks of sitting together on a traditional mat talking together like things once were. Yet, when dealing with her
Scott 4
daughter and her unexpected pregnancy she chooses to accept the mistake and instead of disowning her she embraces the change this will bring to their lives. After which, she chooses to speak about contraceptive with her other daughters. In this conversation, she teaches the ways of the old which her daughters already seem to understand, but she still allows the use of contraception so as to avoid this situation her eldest daughter is experiencing.
Aissatou represents a liberated woman that overcomes her husband’s dishonorable actions and is able to create a life completely her own with her children. Through a great amount of education, she is able to successfully attain a job at the United States embassy as an interpreter. Within the novel she is able to come to her friend, Ramatoulaye’s, rescue by buying her a fiat when her family desperately needs a car. Ramatoulaye pictures Aissatou wearing pants and embracing new western ways.
Together these women in Mariama Bâ’s So Long a Letter tell the story of the past and the future through the correspondence of their lives. The differences between Senegalese men and women are repeatedly highlighted within Bâ’s fictional work. She allows for women to have a voice for change within the work, allowing women to break tradition and leave the realm of male patriarchy. Within the correspondence of two friends we see themes of a struggle for money, of class struggle, an importance placed on education, and changing social climates that build an understanding of the importance of the change from past to present in both woman and West Africa. These changes give women and their children a chance for new roles within tradition and society.