Resisting within Patriarchy in Mariama Ba's So Long a Letter

Abstract

This thesis explores the issue that despite being dominated in a patriarchal society, Ramatoulaye and Aissatou are still optimistic to form their identities struggling against the ill-treatment. The two women have married for love and have had happy, productive marriages. But during their lives, both of their husbands chose to take a second wife and each woman then made a different choice. Ramatoulaye decides to stay married, while her friend divorces her husband and eventually leaves the country to settle in the United States. In her letter, Ramatoulaye examines her life and that of other women of Senegal. This exploration of feminism is perhaps what makes the novel a strong voice for the oppressed woman in Africa. The woman is suppressed by culture and by virtue of her position. Aissatou rejects this and slowly Ramatoulaye realizes she cannot look to her culture for support.