On the other side lies her friend Aissatou who has had similar experiences of treachery in her marriage to Mawdo. She rises up above her position and proves that as a woman she can do things that were least expected of her. Aissatou and her friend Ramatoulaye therefore share experiences that are similar yet they react to them differently. The writer therefore leaves it for us to decide who is right in their actions and who is not.
Although they originally come from different social classes, Ramatoulaye and Aissatou, as colonized women, share the same struggles. Aissatou is the daughter of a goldsmith, and has entered the middle class elite by attaining an education and through her marriage to Mawdo Bâ, a doctor. Ramatoulaye is born into her status, but like Aissatou, elevates her status as a woman through education. In many ways, both women are active participants in social change in that they have both entered into marriage with partners of their own choice, and have received a Western education which was not readily accessible to all women. Ramatoulaye recalls this time when she and Aissatou were "the first pioneers of the promotion of African women, there were very few of us" (14). But they also "suffered the social constraints and heavy burden of custom" (19). As working women, Ramatoulaye and Aissatou are not released from their domestic duties as wives and mothers, and both women are often subjected to the scrutiny of their in-laws. Aissatou is rejected by her mother-in-law, who is outraged by her son's choice to marry a woman of a lower caste. Ramatoulaye is forced to comply with the family hierarchy by dutifully respecting her mother-in-law, who is primarily concerned with flaunting Modou's social success, which includes Ramatoulaye and their home, to her friends. Bâ reveals through her female characters how classism prevents women from forming a collective in the struggle against colonization, in Africa as elsewhere in the world.
Tradition and customs very often hold an important position in ones life and culture. The novel So Long A Letter, by Mariama Ba, is based on the Senegalese culture and shows how important tradition is in Africa. The novel is a series of letters written by a recently widowed woman, Ramatoulaye, to her best friend Aissatou. The transition through the many grieving stages and traditional mourning events are explained, as well as a woman’s place in a Senegalese society and family.
According to Muslim tradition, which was the dominant tradition in Senegal, when Ramatoulaye’s husband, Modou, passed away, she had to mourn over her loss for three months. During this time, friends and family members gathered in her house to accompany her. One of the traditions, which she wasn’t too fond of, was having to give up her possessions and belongings as gifts to her in-laws, as well as her deceased husband’s personal secrets. This whole process was a way of giving up herself as a person.
Writing the letter to Aissatou has an effect on Ramatoulaye. It serves as a memorial to her late husband, who, along with the pain and betrayal, she can bury in the past. It takes the death of her husband for Ramatoulaye to realize that she can no longer accept her marginal role under colonization. Through her anger she gains the courage to reject her suitors' proposals for marriage; she knows that Tamsir's interests in her are purely economic, but Daouda Dieng, who genuinely cares for Ramatoulaye, is also unable to persuade her to marry him. In a letter to Daouda, she explains the reason for her refusal: "Abandoned yesterday because of a woman, I cannot lightly bring myself between you and your family" (68). Irène Assiba d'Almeida suggests that "by taking this stand Ramatoulaye implies that a greater solidarity among women is needed to alleviate the agony women go through in polygamous situations" (164)
Word Count: 785
