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Essay / Feminism in response to betrayal in the letter so long by Mariama BA
A letter so long, written by Mariama Bâ and published in 1979, is a novel that talks about the abandonment of a beloved husband which later affected Ramatoulaye's life and beginnings. feminist actions. Through the story of the painful experience lived by Ramatoulaye, Mariama Bâ uses this novel to present cultural norms and social problems between men and women in Senegal. In the book, Ramatoulaye shares her worries, growth and recovery after her husband's rejection with Aissatou, through various letters, in which she recounts her painful journey of betrayal. At the beginning of the book; the diary, which happens to be the first letter written to Aissatou, gives the reader feelings of pain, emotional breakdown, and inner conflict that Ramatoulaye faces. However, as the book continues, a feminist voice arrives to comfort and positively impact her grief. In the book, Mariama Bâ decides to depict different aspects of feminism that arise in response to betrayal through Ramatoulaye's healing. Under it, she talks about her desire to find happiness, uses female characters and says no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay To begin with, the use of female characters aims to highlight the effect of marriage experiences that women undergo and how this leads to feminism. In this case, the betrayal encountered by Ramatoulaye, Aissatou, and Daba all lead to a feminist point of view that all develops in response to the betrayal they experience in different ways: Modou's disloyalty to Ramatoulaye by marrying a younger woman after 25 years of marriage, which in a feminist's point of view was a betrayal; The betrayal of Mawdo and Daba as a witness to her father's infidelity towards her mother with her best friend Binetou. Secondly, Ramatoulaye, as the narrator herself, has more influence on the aspect of feminism since almost the entire text is written by her. own point of view. This allows us to better understand her argument for feminism. Her encounter in the book could be interpreted as a symbol of the many personal experiences of women, mainly in marriages based on infidelity, thus influencing the reader in a more significant way. Even if in the Senegalese and Muslim context, polygamy is considered a culture, Ramatoulaye sees it as a betrayal of women. In the novel, Ramatoulaye and Modou are presented to us as educated scholars with a more modern understanding of the world. For this reason, Ramatoulaye expected Modou to make a more open-minded decision, contrary to cultural norms. Modou's choice to remarry after 25 years of marriage is therefore a big surprise for Ramatoulaye. The use of strong words like "charted" and "rejected" states that Modou's betrayal was very hurtful due to his conscious act of disloyalty and what one could call betrayal without even hesitation while he is perceived as an educated individual. As we see in the novel, this leads to the beginning of Ramatoulaye's feminism. Having established the foundations of feminism, the reader can distinguish Ramatoulaye as a moderate feminist. Following Modou's disloyalty, she cooperates with his co-wife and sympathizes with the young Binetou forced into marriage by his mother in the battle of materialism against maternalism. Furthermore, Ramatoulaye continues to wonder about Modou's dishonesty: “Was it madness, weakness or irresistible love? What inner confusion pushed Modou Fall to marryBinetou?’. Once again we see the reflective nature of the text through the use of rhetorical questions. They depict Ramatoulaye's internal conflict as she continues to question Modou's betrayal. The fact that she still asks questions and tries to blame her dishonesty on madness shows the complete shock of the revelation of Modou's marriage to Binetou for no good reason. Modou's betrayal stings even more because Ramatoulaye had no indication until Tamsir, the Imam and Mawdo attacked him with the news of Modou's marriage to Binetou. The words "madness, weakness" suggest that Ramatoulaye is looking for reasons to blame Modou's deliberate actions. To some extent, she is in denial. For Ramatoulaye, his love for Modou outweighs the hurtful nature of his disloyalty. This presents her as a moderate feminist because instead of taking full responsibility for her husband's remarriage or the other extreme of rejecting him entirely, she takes a middle ground position. She tries to understand his reasoning without necessarily compromising her own innocence. Unlike Ramatoulaye's subtlety, Aissatou embodies the characteristics of a revolutionary feminist. Aunt Nabou plays a vital role in Aissatous's actions: her plan was to marry young Nabou and Mawdo due to her disapproval of Aissatou as the daughter of a goldsmith. This "controversial marriage" was cleverly fragmented after Aunt Nabou groomed young Nabou and emotionally blackmailed her only son into marrying her approved choice. The result was Aissatou's unexpected but inspiring decision to leave Mawdo. She leaves behind a letter which will remain engraved in Ramatoulaye's memory. Given that Aissatou's situation occurred five years before Ramatoulaye's, it shows that his dignified words impacted Ramatoulaye in an integral way. Aïssatou's letter culminates in these moving words; 'I strip myself of your love, of your name, clothed in my dignity, the only worthy garment, I go my way'. The use of the verb “to strip” plays a key role in depicting Aissatou's anger and complete rejection of Mawdo. The word implies bitterly tearing away or eradicating Mawdo from one's life. Additionally, the clothing imagery allows Aissatou to express her disapproval of Mawdo's second marriage and embodies the theme of the individual versus society or modernity versus culture. The metaphor of dignity is also significant, she explains that she will no longer have pride or self-respect if she stays with him. So, she leaves through the word of a letter leaving Mawdo and the community in disbelief. With this, it can be concluded that Aissatou is truly a revolutionary feminist who values her own worth over the dictates of society. Aissatou is not the only strong feminist represented in the text. Daba, Ramatoulaye's eldest daughter, is also one of them. This may have been caused by the fact that his father was his best friend's sugar daddy. These experiences shaped her into the radical feminist she embodies throughout the book. At the beginning of the book, during the distribution of Modou's goods, Daba fearlessly demands the SICAP villa. “As for my daughter Daba, she brandished a bailiff’s certificate, dated the same day of her father’s death, which listed all the contents of the SICAP villa.” This shows Daba's strength and fierceness. The meaning of this quote highlights poetic justice: on the very day his father died, Daba focused more on protecting his mother rather than grieving his father. This also highlights the rift that has developed between Daba and Modou. Ramatoulaye continues: “You know that I am excessively sentimental. I.