So Long a Letter

by Mariama Ba

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Student Question

How do men use polygamy to their advantage in So Long a Letter?

Quick answer:

In So Long a Letter, Moudou uses polygamy to his advantage when he takes a younger second wife and persuades Ramatoulaye to accept the situation. For Mawda, polygamy is advantageous to his family even more than to him personally. His second marriage pleases his mother and yields more children, but the new arrangement prompts his first wife, Aissatou, to divorce him.

Expert Answers

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So Long a Letter presents polygamy in two different situations. One couple is Moudou and Ramatoulaye, and the other is Mawda and Aissatou. In the first case, the original wife stays married to her husband, while in the second case, the first wife divorces him. Despite the first marriage ending for one couple, overall, the author portrays this form of polygamy as advantageous to the husband.

Moudou and Ramatoulaye have been married for decades when he decides to take a second wife. She is so young that she is a contemporary of their grown daughter. Ramatoulaye is blindsided to learn that her husband even contemplated such a move, much less is going through with it. He reaches this decision on his own without consulting her. The terms of their marriage have been such that Ramatoulaye has few options. The husband is shown as much more powerful than the first wife. Moudou gains the benefits of a beautiful bride while retaining a senior wife who manages the household.

The other instance at first seems quite distinct, as the idea of a second marriage is not Mawda’s but that of his mother. He concurs with her agreement that the family’s status will be raised by this arrangement. At first, however, he seems reluctant and claims the marriage is a formality. When Aissatou becomes convinced that is not the case and decides to leave him, Mawda is shown to benefit by having another sexual partner and fathering children with her.

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