So long a letter characters. (PDF) [Mariama Bâ] So Long a Letter(complianceportal.american.edu) 2022-10-28

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"So Long a Letter" is a novel by Senegalese author Mariama Bâ, first published in 1979. The novel is written in the form of a long letter written by the protagonist, Ramatoulaye Fall, to her lifelong friend, Aissatou Bâ.

Ramatoulaye Fall is a well-educated, intelligent woman who has been married for many years to a man named Modou Fall. She is the mother of twelve children and has had a traditional Muslim upbringing. Despite the challenges she has faced in her life, Ramatoulaye is a strong and resilient woman who is deeply committed to her faith and to the education of her children.

Aissatou Bâ is Ramatoulaye's closest friend, and the two women have known each other since they were young girls. Aissatou is also a well-educated woman, and like Ramatoulaye, she has had a traditional Muslim upbringing. However, Aissatou has chosen to take a different path in life, and she has left her husband and children in order to pursue a career as a teacher.

Throughout the novel, Ramatoulaye reflects on the challenges and joys of her own life, as well as the changes that she has seen in her society over the years. She writes about her marriage to Modou and the difficulties they faced in their relationship, as well as the impact of his death on her and her children. She also writes about the changes that she has seen in her society, particularly the increasing role of women in education and the workforce.

One of the central themes of "So Long a Letter" is the role of women in Muslim society. Ramatoulaye writes about the expectations placed on women in her culture, and the ways in which these expectations have changed over time. She also writes about the challenges that women face in trying to balance the demands of family and career, and the importance of education and self-determination in helping women to overcome these challenges.

Overall, the characters of Ramatoulaye Fall and Aissatou Bâ are complex and well-developed, and they provide a nuanced portrayal of the experiences and challenges of women in Muslim society. Through their stories, Bâ explores the complexities of family, friendship, and identity, and the ways in which these themes intersect with religion, culture, and social change.

Modou Character Analysis in So Long a Letter

so long a letter characters

He is Modou's long-time friend and a doctor. Traditionally, polygamy was designed to provide for women in an area where women far outnumbered men. In 1928 he went to Paris on a partial scholarship, continuing his education at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand and the Sorbonne. Though she is a teacher and has a professional life of her own, she is also a devoted mother. Now Modou has died, and Ramatoulaye must navigate the strange situation of being forced to mourn for a man who abandoned her. Ramatoulaye records both her feelings and the events that take place around her. Unwelcome co-wives, therefore, undermine the independence they have achieved through their education and careers.

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(PDF) [Mariama Bâ] So Long a Letter(complianceportal.american.edu)

so long a letter characters

She subsequently marries Mawdo Bâ to exist his 2nd wife. Women and Islam Like Christianity, Islam comprises worship of a sole male deity and confers greater authority upon men than women. Ramatoulaye's husband, Moudou Fall, died suddenly of a heart attack. Ramatoulaye, the narrator living in Dakar, Senegal , addresses her friend, Aissatou, who lives far away, in America. Combining your despair you could have been avengers and made them tremble, all those who are drunk on their wealth; tremble, those upon whom fate has bestowed favours. Both women manage to obtain So Long a Letter, pp. For Ramatoulaye, death is a sacred matter, the gravity of which overcomes if only for a moment feelings of animosity or remorse.

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So Long a Letter by Mariama Bâ Plot Summary

so long a letter characters

The reader does not know because Ramatoulaye can only accurately represent her own feelings. Giwa finds Bâ's representation of the Muslim religion and the Koran's laws governing polygamy to be inaccurate. Characters Ramatoulaye: The widowed Senegalese woman who, after 25 years of marriage and 12 children, narrates the story of her psychological abandonment by her husband, who takes a second wife. First she recalls her childhood with Aissatou, listing off a series of discrete images: the two of them walking along the same road to koranic school, and the two of them burying their baby teeth in the same hole. Senegal had been a French colony since the seventeenth century.

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Mawdo Character Analysis in So Long a Letter

so long a letter characters

However, Ramatoulaye realizes that she does not love him. Lady Mother-in-Law Binetou's mother, who pressures Binetou to marry Modou so she can live off of his fortune. Logical and level-headed, she and her husband secure a solid settlement for Ramatoulaye after Modou's death. She saluted the courage of the reckless; she stigmatized trickery, laziness, calumny; she demanded care of the orphan and respect for old age. The daughter of a goldsmith, Aissatou was considered an unfit bride for the doctor Mawdo Bâ, the son of a tribal princess.

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So Long a Letter Characters

so long a letter characters

These years also offered a few elite African women access to education. Grande Nabou: Mawdo Bâ's mother and influences him to marry Little Nabou. The second date is today's date — the date you are citing the material. But for the most part, all information is filtered through Ramatoulaye's perspective. The second is the date of publication online or last modification online.

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So Long A Letter Characters

so long a letter characters

Daouda accepts her decision with regret and ceases to visit. The last date is today's date — the date you are citing the material. By using it to tell the story of one woman's life, Bâ suggests that a woman's personal history is, in a sense, an epic. During Bâ's lifetime, corruption was rife. She goes to her old neighborhood and receives a youthful, remotely related young lady, at that point brings up this youngster for the sole reason for wedding Mawdo. Next she writes of how her husband abandoned her five years before his death. It is after she has adjusted to this life that Moudou dies.

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So Long A Letter

so long a letter characters

Farmata: The griot woman who is Ramatoulaye's neighbor and childhood friend. Although Binetou hoped to complete her education, her impoverished mother begged her to accept her suitor, who promised jewels, a car, and other luxuries if she left school to marry him. Ramatoulaye strongly believes in the bond of marriage and that it is the foundation of society. Ramatoulaye is the narrator of So Long a Letter; the book is both her diary and a long letter to her friend Aissatou. He will marry Aïssatou if Ramatoulaye will allow it.

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Who are some of the main characters in So Long a Letter, and what are their conflicts?

so long a letter characters

The writer was praised for her involvement in expanding African literature every bit well as feminism through personal accounts of her life. Moreover, she discovers that another daughter, Aissatou—named for her friend—is three months pregnant. Ramatoulaye is relieved to hear of these plans but wonders what happens to young pregnant girls who are less fortunate. Most educated urban women of the late twentieth century show a preference for entering into a monogamous or polygamous relationship with a man. Ramatoulaye begins her story by describing her husband's death and funeral. This does not, however, convince Ramatoulaye to marry Daouda Dieng. Modou: The husband of Ramatoulaye and of Binetou.


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