What are some quotes from So Long a Letter?
Mariama Bâ > Quotes
- “Friendship has splendors that love knows not.
- “And also, one is a mother in order to understand the inexplicable.
- “The flavour of life is love.
- “The word ‘happiness’ does indeed have meaning, doesn’t it?
- “A nervous breakdown waits around the corner for anyone who lets himself wallow in bitterness.
What is the purpose of So Long a Letter?
The letter was used in the western hemisphere to study how strong bonds women formed influenced them. Ramatoulaye and Aissatou’s friendship helped them break away from social norms, gaining social and political respect without a male. The letter was also used to understand women’s views on polygamy.
What inspired Mariama Ba to write So Long a Letter?
A wife and mother, Bâ married a Senegalese politician, with whom she had nine children. Though the marriage ended in divorce it provided inspiration for her first novel, So Long a Letter, noted for its striking depiction of women in Islamic culture and its blistering treatment of polygamy.
How does so long a letter reflect the theme of polygamy?
In sum, the main issue, in So Long A Letter, is not about the criticism of polygamy as a prescribed God‟s law, but men‟s polygamous instincts that result in the abuse of Islam, betrayal, infidelity, lack of trust and abandonment which disgrace women.
How does So Long a Letter reflect the theme of polygamy?
What is the main conflict in So Long a Letter?
In So Long a Letter, the main conflict that Mawdo faces is that between love and duty. Mawdo loves Aissatou but allows himself to be pressurized by his mother into doing what she considers his duty by marrying his cousin Nabou, a woman he doesn’t love.
What is the summary of the novel So Long a Letter?
Overview. So Long A Letter follows the story of two women from Senegal, Ramatoulaye and Aissatou. They are childhood friends whose paths diverge in adulthood when Aissatou emigrates to America, leaving Ramatoulaye behind in Senegal.
How is polygamy portrayed in So Long a Letter?
What is the conflict of the novel So Long a Letter?
What are the major themes in the novel So Long a Letter?
So Long a Letter Themes
- Custom, Modernity, and Progress. The Senegal depicted in So Long a Letter is a country on the threshold, passing between two historical eras.
- Feminism and Islam.
- Motherhood.
- Friendship vs.
- Dialogue and Address.
Why does Ramatoulaye stay with Modou?
Ramatoulaye was left heartbroken and effectively abandoned as Modou began a new life with Binetou. Despite this, she decided to remain married to Modou, accepting her fate as if it were a duty to fulfill.
How does the narrator react to Modou’s death?
2. How does the narrator react to Modou’s death? After hearing the news, the devastated narrator can barely stand on her legs, yet she tries to remain dignified and listen to grief-stricken Dr. Mawdo Bw discuss the mysteries of birth and death.
When was so long a letter written?
So Long a Letter (1979) was her first novel. Written in French, it was published to immediate literary acclaim. In 1981 the book won the first ever Noma Award for Publishing in Africa, and it went on to become one of the first novels by an African woman to gain international attention.
What is the plot of so long a letter?
So Long A Letter follows the story of two women from Senegal, Ramatoulaye and Aissatou. They are childhood friends whose paths diverge in adulthood when Aissatou emigrates to America, leaving Ramatoulaye behind in Senegal.
What is the LitCharts study guide on so long a letter?
Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Mariama Bâ’s So Long a Letter. Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world’s best literature guides. A concise biography of Mariama Bâ plus historical and literary context for So Long a Letter.
What is the setting of so long a letter?
The West African country of Senegal, in which So Long a Letter is set, has a long and rich history, much of which roils beneath the novel’s surface. Before the colonial period, the region now called Senegal was long a part of the powerful Ghana and Wolof empires.