Namely, the absence of any source of happiness and the resulting drop in the quality of life are the most egregious examples of how gender inequality affects women in Senegal, according to Bâ’s novel. The described issues portrayed in Bâ’s novel lead to a major challenge that women living in the specified community have to encounter throughout their entire life. The description of the lead character giving birth provided by Bâ, who described the process of childbirth in metaphors that sound both poetic and rough, indicates that the specified event is a major turning point in the leading character’s life, a “Joyous miracle of birth” (Bâ 4). Namely, the persistence of stereotypes regarding gender roles and especially the role of a woman, who is relegated to giving birth and keeping the house, is pointed at as the primary issue within the Senegal community. However, delving further into the description of the society that Bâ provides, one will notice that polygamy is not the cause of women’s distress and the challenges that they face but, rather, a symptom of a larger underlying issue. Therefore, the development of envy and bitterness as the main outcome of polygamous relationships within the Senegal community is described as the foundational problem that needs to be eradicated. The author illustrates the observed relationships with the help of a single sharp commentary: “The presence of my cowife beside me irritates me” (Bâ 3). Specifically, Bâ demonstrates how the struggle for gaining better treatment and striving to improve their rank in the polygamous family hierarchy leads women to conspire against each other.
The issue of polygamy is the main source of challenges faced by women in Senegal as described in Bâ’s “So Long a Letter.” In addition, polygamous relationships depicted in the novel are portrayed as the causes of further divisions within the community.
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