History and tradition are the loudest and major voices heard in Mariama Ba’s “So Long a Letter.” The themes mentioned below are based on tradition, followed by the rich history behind them which is what Mariama Ba bases her characters on. She is trying to show us how these traditions and the history behind it affect people and if it can be changed.
The hair removal tradition in the Senegalese culture, for instance, has been going on for as long as anyone could remember. “Her behavior is conditioned: no sister-in-law will touch the head of any wife who has been stingy, unfaithful and inhospitable” (4:2). This statement has been written like a rehearsed line, a statement that has been repeatedly taught to Ba, that she has seen so many times before …show more content…
Mariama Ba showed us how education for women was despised at that time in Senegal, and that despite the French colonization and the international education it provided, very few families would actually send their daughters to school. The sons were, of course, given the best education. This is evident when Aunty Nabou tells Young Nabou on page thirty, “To tell the truth, a woman does not need too much education.”
Mariama Ba, who herself had grown up in the era of French colonization and had gone to excellent schools with the support of her father, puts this tradition as a part of the book to show her audience the injustice happening to women for ages. Aunty Nabou, being the old generation, did not know the importance of education and neither did Young Nabou, despite being part of the new generation. It was just a part of history that was taught to women at that time that they are meant to do household chores and everyone just followed it. No woman knew or questioned why they were not allowed to exploit their potential. Although, when women such as Ramatoulaye and Aissatou did go against all odds and study, they faced ignorance of their illiterate society in terms of religion and social
The hair removal tradition in the Senegalese culture, for instance, has been going on for as long as anyone could remember. “Her behavior is conditioned: no sister-in-law will touch the head of any wife who has been stingy, unfaithful and inhospitable” (4:2). This statement has been written like a rehearsed line, a statement that has been repeatedly taught to Ba, that she has seen so many times before …show more content…
Mariama Ba showed us how education for women was despised at that time in Senegal, and that despite the French colonization and the international education it provided, very few families would actually send their daughters to school. The sons were, of course, given the best education. This is evident when Aunty Nabou tells Young Nabou on page thirty, “To tell the truth, a woman does not need too much education.”
Mariama Ba, who herself had grown up in the era of French colonization and had gone to excellent schools with the support of her father, puts this tradition as a part of the book to show her audience the injustice happening to women for ages. Aunty Nabou, being the old generation, did not know the importance of education and neither did Young Nabou, despite being part of the new generation. It was just a part of history that was taught to women at that time that they are meant to do household chores and everyone just followed it. No woman knew or questioned why they were not allowed to exploit their potential. Although, when women such as Ramatoulaye and Aissatou did go against all odds and study, they faced ignorance of their illiterate society in terms of religion and social