So Long a Letter | Literary Heritage & History

So Long a Letter Literary Heritage

In So Long a Letter, Bâ moves between literary heritages. Educated in a French-run school in Africa and with full access to European culture, Bâ was well aware of Western cultural practices. Her character Ramatoulaye speaks of enjoying "intellectual films, those with a message, sentimental films, detective films, comedies, thrillers. . . . I learned from them lessons of greatness, courage and perseverance. They deepened and widened my vision of the world, thanks to their cultural value." Bâ further indicates what she has learned from Western narratives when Ramatoulaye extols the "power of books." Recalling her own days at a French-run school, Ramatoulaye declares, "Books knit generations together." Cognizant of a world beyond her own, a world opened through books and movies, Bâ was in a position to craft her story through the traditions that best suited it.

Some of these traditions were native to Africa. In the novel,...
(read more)