A Postcolonial Analysis of Mariama Bâ’s So Long a Letter

Abstract

This article offers a postcolonial reading of Mariama Bâ’s So Long a Letter, situating the novel within the broader landscape of modern African literature and postcolonial critique. Rather than providing a thematic inventory, the study examines how the narrative articulates an African-centered worldview through the interrelated issues of polygamy, religion, and female friendship. These themes are approached as social structures and discursive sites through which gendered power relations, cultural continuity, and postcolonial transformation are negotiated in Senegalese society. Focusing primarily on the epistolary voice of Ramatoulaye and her dialogic relationship with Aissatou, the analysis explores how personal correspondence becomes a narrative strategy for political reflection, ethical questioning, and female self-representation. Polygamy is examined not merely as a cultural practice but as a contested institution shaped by colonial legacies, patriarchal authority, and individual agency. Religion, particularly Islam, is analyzed in its dual function as both a source of moral grounding and a framework susceptible to patriarchal reinterpretation. Female friendship emerges as a counter-discourse that enables solidarity, resistance, and alternative forms of social belonging beyond marital and familial constraints. Methodologically, the article employs close textual analysis informed by postcolonial theory and African feminist criticism to demonstrate Mariama Bâ’s critical engagement with practices often treated as cultural taboos. The novel’s character network—including figures such as Modou Fall, Mawdo Bâ, Aunty Nabou, and Binetou—is read as a narrative constellation through which competing visions of tradition, modernity, and gender roles are articulated. The study argues that So Long a Letter functions as a reflective space in which postcolonial subjectivity, female agency, and ethical modernity are negotiated. By foregrounding women’s voices and relational bonds, Mariama Bâ contributes a nuanced critique of postcolonial African society that remains central to contemporary debates on gender, culture, and social change.