Comparing the Polygamous Marriges in so Long a Letter
the differences among the polygamous marriages in So Long a Letter.
“You think the problem of polygamy is a simple one. Those who are involved
In it know the constraints, the lies, the injustices that weigh down their consciences
In return for the ephemeral joys of change, I am sure you are motivated by love, a love that existed well before your marriage and that fate has not been able to satisfy.”
I think this quotation captures the true essence of the novel and represents the central conflict. Two of the plot lines in Mariama Bâ’s So Long a Letter revolve around the effect of polygamy. The issue of polygamy also remains one of the central issues in the book. In a letter which is written to her friend Aissatou Bâ, Ramatoulaye Fall describes how her husband decides to take a second wife Binetou. In the course of the novel Ramatoulaye also remembers the circumstances which led to Aissatou eventually seeking divorce from her husband Mawdo Bâ. So Long a Letter aptly describes the grievances and the sorrows felt by women who are bound in polygamous marriages. The novel gives several examples women undergoing this situation; however I will be focusing on the differences among the polygamous marriages of Ramatoulaye and Modou fall, and Mawdo and Aissatou Bâ.
It is quite evident from the beginning of the novel, of the close friendship between Ramatoulaye and Aissatou. It shows that their association is not a new one and that their friendship has survived their youth and hence strengthened over time. “We walked the same paths from adolescence to maturity, where the past begets the present”. This signifies the growth of their friendship over time, and that even after such a long time their friendship remains intact; they both have someone who they can count on, who they can truly count as a friend. Even after they both matured their lives “developed in parallel”, they experienced the “tiffs and reconciliations of married life”, and in all senses Ramatoulaye and
“You think the problem of polygamy is a simple one. Those who are involved
In it know the constraints, the lies, the injustices that weigh down their consciences
In return for the ephemeral joys of change, I am sure you are motivated by love, a love that existed well before your marriage and that fate has not been able to satisfy.”
I think this quotation captures the true essence of the novel and represents the central conflict. Two of the plot lines in Mariama Bâ’s So Long a Letter revolve around the effect of polygamy. The issue of polygamy also remains one of the central issues in the book. In a letter which is written to her friend Aissatou Bâ, Ramatoulaye Fall describes how her husband decides to take a second wife Binetou. In the course of the novel Ramatoulaye also remembers the circumstances which led to Aissatou eventually seeking divorce from her husband Mawdo Bâ. So Long a Letter aptly describes the grievances and the sorrows felt by women who are bound in polygamous marriages. The novel gives several examples women undergoing this situation; however I will be focusing on the differences among the polygamous marriages of Ramatoulaye and Modou fall, and Mawdo and Aissatou Bâ.
It is quite evident from the beginning of the novel, of the close friendship between Ramatoulaye and Aissatou. It shows that their association is not a new one and that their friendship has survived their youth and hence strengthened over time. “We walked the same paths from adolescence to maturity, where the past begets the present”. This signifies the growth of their friendship over time, and that even after such a long time their friendship remains intact; they both have someone who they can count on, who they can truly count as a friend. Even after they both matured their lives “developed in parallel”, they experienced the “tiffs and reconciliations of married life”, and in all senses Ramatoulaye and