RODRIGUEZ, JOANA JEORGIE L.

BSED-ENGLISH III

Mariama Bâ

● One of Africa’s most influential women authors, Mariama Bâ is known for her
powerful feminist texts, which address the issues of gender inequality in her
native Senegal and wider Africa.
● Bâ herself experienced many of the prejudices facing women: she struggled for
an education against her traditional grandparents, and was left to look after her
nine children after divorcing a prominent politician.
● Her anger and frustration at the patriarchal structures which defined her life spill
over into her literature: her novel So Long A Letter (1981) depicts,
simultaneously, its protagonist’s strength and powerlessness within marriage and
wider society.

The relation of this literary work of Mariama Bâ is all about the feminism
theories. We can say that she wrote this literary work " So Long A Letter (1981)",
when she was frustrated and anger at the patriarchal structures. The patriarchal
structures which defined her life spill over. There was a connection between her
life and her novel that was for people who experienced that. Particulary, this
literary work of her reminds us that be a woman that stands out in every situation.

Feminism theory is close to her worl because it defined how woman are strong
and fight for the gender inequality in their place. As you read about the author's
life and as I reported it already, she was a strong woman who wants to be known
to fight for her fellowmen.