Thus, although Ramatoulaye and Aissatou have received similar education, share similar religious and political beliefs, they reveal different personal motivations and different family positions.
In this regard, Ramatoulaye believes that it is necessary to unite some good old traditions of Muslims with the principles of personal freedom, while Aissatou rejects old customs, making an attempt to become fully independent and finding her new place of living in the United States.
On the other hand, the writer shows that Ramatoulaye and Aissatou act differently when they collide with the husbands’ betrayal Aissatou decides to divorce her husband Mawdo Ba, while Ramatoulaye remains a second wife of her husband. Mariama Ba demonstrates that although these female characters are the victims of their religious beliefs and low social position, they are engaged in the struggle for personal freedom and independence of their country. Both Ramatoulaye and Aissatou have received good education that allows them to strive for equality between men and women. Ramatoulaye identifies herself with Aissatou, claiming that “we walked the same paths from adolescence to maturity, the past begets the present… Yesterday you were divorced. Ramatoulaye compares her fate with the fate of Aissatou in fact, both women are betrayed by their husbands and have to adjust to polygamy. Applying to the letters of Ramatoulaye, the author reveals that recently she has lost her husband, Modou Fall, and in accordance with her Muslim religious beliefs, she has to spend much time in privacy. The novel So Long a Letter is created in the form of a prolonged letter written by Ramatoulaye Fall to her close female friend Aissatou Ba. Comparing Ramatoulaye with Aissatou, Binetou with Nabou and Modou with Mawdo, this Senegalese writer uncovers the identities of her characters, their personal characteristics and beliefs, motivations and social standing. Such a tool of expression is specifically utilized by Mariama Ba in her famous novel So Long a Letter. In some literary works the principal characters are portrayed through their relations with other protagonists.
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