What are the theme of the novel so long a letter?

What are the theme of the novel so long a letter?

Marital Love. Throughout the novel, Ramatoulaye’s close bond with her friend Aissatou is continually posed against the disintegration of both of their marriages. For both Ramatoulaye and presumably Aissatou, friendship—especially female friendship—offers a richer and more intimate connection than marriage ever can.

What reason did Aissatou give for leaving her husband?

Unlike Ramatoulaye, Aissatou decides to leave her husband on principle. Of a much more independent spirit than Ramatoulaye, Aissatou decides to pursue her education. She ends up moving to America, to work in the Senegalese embassy there.

Why did Ramatoulaye stay with her husband?

Ramatoulaye is going through many pragmatic challenges such as raising children and supporting them financially. These challenges are overwhelming her liberal feminist attitude which is why she chooses to stay with her husband.

What is the style in so long a letter?

So Long a Letter is a novel written in the first person point of view. Through the device of a letter, Ramatoulaye narrates her story to her friend as a diary, offering a first-hand account of Ramatoulaye’s life and emotions, distilled in the telling by the isolation of her mourning period.

How does the novel So Long a Letter end?

Ramatoulaye concludes her long letter by anticipating Aissatou’s impending return to Senegal. She looks forward to seeing her friend, and trusts that despite the physical changes they’ve endured, their friendship will be strong as ever.

How does the novel so long a letter end?

What was Aissatou’s profession in so long a letter?

She is also exasperated to discover that despite her professional life as a teacher, and despite the help of a few maids, the brunt of household duties still fall to her. For Aissatou’s part, her family-in-law does not respect her, and barely acknowledges her existence.

What is the 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 significance of the main characters in so long a letter?

Thus, the main characters are significant because they perfectly capture the issues women in Senegal face, and they are direct in their critique of their conditions.

Who is Mawdo BA in so long a letter?

Mawdo is a doctor, an upstanding citizen, and a member of Senegal’s class of nobles. He and Aissatou fall in love despite the class difference between their two families. This upsets Mawdo’s mother, who eventually tricks him into taking on his young cousin Nabou as a second wife.

What is the summary of the novel so long a letter?

Plot summary So long a letter, or in its original French publication, Une si longue lettre, is written as a series of letters, known as an epistolary novel, from the main character Ramatoulaye Fall to her best friend Aissatou following the sudden death from heart attack of Ramatoulaye’s husband Moudou Ba.

What is the summary of so long a letter?

So Long a Letter Summary. So Long a Letter begins when Ramatoulaye, a Senegalese woman living in Dakar, the country’s capital, decides to write a letter to her old friend Aissatou, who lives in America. The letter is occasioned by the sudden death of Modou, Ramatoulaye’s estranged husband.

What is Mariama Ba’s message in so long a letter?

In So Long a Letter, author Mariama Ba grapples with changing social climates and the role women play in them, paying particularly attention to the ways in which education allows women to lift themselves up, while a lack of education leaves them stunted and with few options.

What is the theme of so long a letter themes?

One is a mother to lighten the darkness. One is a mother to shield when lightning streaks the night, when thunder shakes the earth, when mud bogs one down. One is a mother in order to love without beginning or end. Preston, Oliver. “So Long a Letter Themes: Motherhood.”

How do I Track themes in so long a letter?

LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in So Long a Letter, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. Ramatoulaye is a devoted mother to her twelve children.