So Long a Letter

CHAPTERS 1-12

Reading Check

1. Her husband’s funeral because she must sacrifice “her possessions as gifts to her family-in-law; and, worse still, beyond her possessions she gives up her personality, her dignity, becoming a thing in the service of the man who has married her, his grandfather, his grandmother, his father, his mother, his brother, his sister, his uncle, his aunt, his male and female cousins, his friends” (Chapter 2)

2. Because “[i]t is a debt to be repaid in similar circumstances” (Chapter 3)

3. The “wide gap between [the] two upper incisors” (Chapter 6)

4. Goldsmith (Chapter 8)

5. “[O]ne of domination, the other of independence” (Chapter 10)

6. “[D]ocility” (Chapter 12)

Short Answer

1. Rama is writing to her friend Aissatou, who has moved to the US. Rama informs her friend that her husband Modou recently died, and she is in the mourning period. (Chapter 1)

2. Rama learns that her husband died “without a penny saved”; however, he lived a relatively lavish lifestyle with his second family, for which he mortgaged the home he and Rama shared as it was under his name (even though it was purchased through their joint savings). (Chapter 4)

3. Rama recalls that she instantly knew that Modou was the husband that she was waiting for and continued the relationship after he went to France. At the time, she did not listen to her mother’s concerns; however, looking back on the relationship, she sees that her “mother’s reserve” was justified. (Chapter 6)

4. Rama recalls that Aissatou’s marriage to Mawdo was met with rumors and controversy, as Aissatou’s social status and family’s financial means were significantly lower than her fiancé’s. (Chapter 8)

5. Rama recalls her efforts to compromise with Modou’s family while also maintaining a successful household as well as a job; this often included tolerating family members she disliked, knowing that they were judging her. Rama remembers leaving the city for the seaside to watch the fishermen to be reminded of “the secret of simple pleasures.” (Chapter 9)

6. Aunty Nabou is the mother of Aissatou’s husband, Mawdo. As a woman of royal descent, she is angered by her son’s choice of a lower status wife, and to seek revenge, she travels to her village and takes young, Nabou, her niece and namesake, in order to raise her with hopes that her son will marry the adopted daughter. Her plan succeeds, and Aissatou leaves her husband, as well as Senegal, for the US. (Chapters 11-12)

CHAPTERS 13-20

Reading Check

1. “Daba was furious, her pride wounded. She repeated all the nicknames Binetou had given her father: old man, pot-belly, sugar-daddy! […] the person who gave her life had been daily ridiculed and he accepted it. An overwhelming anger raged inside Daba.” (Chapter 14)

2. Rama expects Modou to share his time and attention with her and Binetou, but he never visits Rama once married to Binetou. Rama must focus on surviving, including storing food and paying the bills. (Chapter 16)

3. The cinema (Chapter 16)

4. “[H]appiness outside marriage” (Chapter 17)

5. “[F]eminine support” (Chapter 17)

6. “[A] woman must marry the man who loves her but never the one she loves.” (Chapter 19)

Short Answer

1. Binetou is Daba’s friend from school; soon after her arrival to Rama’s household, a “sugar daddy” secretly begins to court and buy expensive items for Binetou. One day, Rama learns that Modou is the “sugar daddy”; he has married Binetou since “God intended him to have a second wife[;] there is nothing he can do about it.” The new marriage destroys Rama’s marriage with Modou, as he wholly rejects Rama in favor of Binetou. (Chapters 13-18)

2. At first, Rama considers divorcing her husband, but she recalls the negative stories of women who left their husbands, including Aissatou and Jacqueline, a woman whose health suffered after the dissolution of her marriage. In the end, Rama decides to stay with her husband even though Modou effectively rejects his first family. (Chapter 14)

3. Now “abandoned” by Modou, Rama learns how to navigate life in Senegal without a husband. She takes solitude in the cinema, the radio, and learning what draws attention from others as a single female. She finds joy and happiness along with pain and difficulty in being alone. One of the major adjustments she has is learning how to use public transportation; however, Aissatou helps her by buying her a car. (Chapter 16)

4. Modou’s brother Tamsir, in the company of the Imam and Mawdo, informs Rama on the 40th day of mourning that he will marry her. Rama becomes angry, rejecting him outright and reminding him of his duty to his other wives that he is unable to support financially at the moment. She claims that this rejection was, “revenge for that other day when all three of them had airily informed [her] of the marriage of Modou Fall and Binetou.” (Chapter 18)

5. Rama is visited by Daouda, a former suitor whom she rejected for Modou. They discuss women’s representation in Senegalese politics, to which Rama says that she is disappointed with the lack of women. Daouda, who calls himself a “feminist,” reminds her of the difficulties in forming a new government that is respected internationally. She is pleased with the visit overall; the next day when he visits, he asks for her hand in marriage, giving her 24 hours to consider the matter. (Chapter 19)

CHAPTERS 21-27

Reading Check

1. That the “heart and mind often disagree” (Chapter 21)

2. She divides Modou’s estate with her daughter Daba. (Chapter 21)

3. “[F]riendship over love” (Chapter 22)

4. Mawdo (Chapter 23)

5. Sexual education (Chapter 26)

Short Answer

1. Rama determines that she will not marry Daouda, as she does not truly love him and would not agree with him entering into a polygamous marriage with her. She sends him a letter with this information, and he responds with a note that says, “All or nothing.” (Chapter 21)

2. Rama catches her three adult daughters smoking in their bedroom while they study. She recalls the difficulty of accepting their interest in wearing trousers, but she finds smoking to be more concerning, as it negates the traditional views of femininity of white teeth and pleasing scents. She bemuses whether smoking led to other vices: “Suddenly I became afraid of the flow of progress. Did they also drink? Who knows, one vice leads to another. Does it mean that one can’t have modernism without a lowering of moral standards?” (Chapter 23)

3. Rama’s daughter Aissatou is pregnant by Iba, and Rama sets a meeting with him. He is calm and assuring, explaining that he will marry her daughter and raise the baby. Rama is concerned about her daughter finishing her education, but Iba insists that she will. Rama acquiesces, stating, “The ripe fruit must drop away from the tree.” (Chapter 25)

4. Chapter 27 is the final letter to Aissatou, as Rama expects to see her friend in person the following day. She wonders if their environments will have created differences between them but nonetheless is excited to see her friend. Among her many observations, she notes the continual importance of the family in developing strong nations: “The nation is made up of all the families, rich or poor, united or separated, aware or unaware. The success of a nation therefore depends inevitably on the family.” (Chapter 27)