So Long a Letter

High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! So Long a Letter recounts the personal narrative of a recently widowed Senegalese woman, Ramatoulaye, in the form of a letter to her best friend from childhood, Aissatou. Following the death of her husband, Moudo Fall, Ramatoulaye writes to her friend during the period of mourning mandated by her Islamic faith.Ramatoulaye evokes happy memories of when the two were students who were impatient to change the world, and of the hope inspired by the independence of Senegal from France. While her step-family comes to take over the affairs of the deceased, Ramatoulaye sadly remembers the day when her husband (Modou) took another younger wife (Binetou), ruining 30 years of life together and of love. This betrayal becomes one of the central plot points and is the main area of confrontation between Ramatoulaye and her husband.