Hope for Ramatoulaye in “So Long Letter” by Mariama Ba

According to Ba, Mariama (7), the main character for Mariama Ba's So Long Letter is Ramatoulaye. From the text, we learn that Ramatoulaye has written a letter to Assiatou who is her best friend expressing herself and how she plans to carry out her new life after acing all she went through. All the situations encountered by Ramatoulaye are spoken about and described in the letter. We therefore get to know the right portray of Ramatoulaye. For instance, she makes a transition from her careless dependence on anyone's love and trust to becoming a purely an independent lady and cares about her needs in a better way to an extent of becoming other people's skeptical. Ramatoulaye's change is expressed right from the time of meeting her future husband till the death time. Ramatoulaye's uniqueness is that she believed in love too much. For instance, even when she meets her second husband, she loves him with all her heart. Her soul expresses that there exists only one soul mate at her time of love. However, Ramatoulaye later come to discover that it is not always true about what she thinks in her heart especially when she faces reality in her life. For example, Ramatoulaye states, Modou Fall knew many undefinable things which gorofied and sealed our relationship (Ba 13).

Ramatoulaye changes her way of dung things and treats the all those who come to mourn the death of her husband well without considering discomforts from her culture and religious laws. Ramatoulaye meets all of them and had courage to operate within them. This marks the first glimpses specific renewal of courage and stoicism. Furthermore, she doesn't have any ill of Binetou who is known to have had a lovely affair with her husband or over five years. Similarly, Ramatoulaye is ready to participate in modernization of Senegal at her later ages in her effort to progress Senegal to a higher operational level. She calls for eternal debate she believes a solution will be found because she understands that she cannot offer solution her herself.

Also, Ramatoulaye finds more fulfillments in Aissatou where they remain in their profession and friendship. They continue in maintaining theirsacred convention joined duties as wives without any clashes as it was common when their husband Modou was living. Furthermore, Ramatoulaye is too concerned about taking care of her children, Aissatou and Mawdo in her effort to make them greater people. She later succeeds because later Aissatou leaves her married, goes back to taking education till he acquires a degree in interpretation which enables him secure a job at the embassy of Senegal in America. Ramatoulaye also continues to advise Mawdo to focus on her life than continuing to get children with Nabou despite the misery experienced between them. Similarly, Aunty Nabou and Ramatoulaye's guardianship enables young Nabou to get a French school enrolment Preston, Oliver.So Long a Letter Chapter 13.

Specifically, Ramatoulaye is now too enlightened that she sees education as the only thing to for better future. She makes emphasis to Binetou to follow the steps Aissau followed to become successful when she left Mawdo. Ramatoulaye speaks with all the understanding of how Senegal society makes it difficult for one to succeed especially for women to maintain both professional life and home as well. Lastly, Ramatoulaye hates those who uphold the cultural practices such as when Binetou submits to the demands of her family to be married according to the cultural custom. Therefore, Ramatoulaye positively changes her life great by a greater positive margin.

Works cited

Preston, Oliver. ""So Long a Letter Plot Summary."" LitCharts. LitCharts LLC, 30 Nov 2016. Web. 7 Dec 2017.

Preston, Oliver. ""So Long a Letter Chapter 13."" LitCharts. LitCharts LLC, 30 Nov 2016. Web. 7 Dec 2017.

Ba, Mariama.? So long a letter. Waveland Press, 2012.

Ba, Mariama. ""So Long a Letter, trans. Modupe Bode-Thomas."" (1981).

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