“So Long a Letter” by Mariama Ba is a masterpiece of West African literature. This epistolary novel represents the problems of females in Senegal society that are marked with injustice and inequality. The men have all the power, and the women are deprived of any opportunities to express their attitudes or wishes. The author underlines the challenges a woman encounters in her life in an African country and the importance of her ability to withstand them employing the strength of a character.
The form of the novel allows the author to employ some useful techniques to underline the self-reflection of the main heroine named Ramatoulaye. Designed in the form of a letter, it delivers first-hand information about the woman and her life in Senegal. At the beginning of her letter to the friend Aissatou, Ramatoulaye says that “confiding in others allays pain” (Ba 1). This correspondence with a dear person is her only opportunity to express her sincere inner feelings about her life and how she struggled through it.
The awareness of the injustice toward women in African societies shows the main character’s power of knowledge that implies her resistant personality. The growing strength of Ramatoulaye’s character is shown in its progress from the beginning until the end of the novel. She acknowledges the unfairness of the Senegalese requirements for woman’s compliance with the rules of behavior where she has to “sacrifice her possessions” and life (Ba 4). The main heroine’s marriage and her husband’s betrayal reflect the general situation in post-colonial Africa. However, Ramatoulaye tells about the difficulties she overcame in life that helped her become stronger.
Thus, Mariama Ba created a compelling character whose identity is reflected in the letter through her analysis of the everyday life of an ordinary African woman. Ramatoulaye’s personality is shown from within due to the particularities of the epistolary genre. In her letter, the main heroine tells the story of her life since her childhood memories until her present-time widowhood. The opportunity to share her experience and feelings with a close person empowers her self-reflection and shows the strength of her character.
Work Cited
Ba, Mariama. So Long a Letter. Heinemann, 1989.