Patriarchy is the soul of the novella So Long a Letter.

In the novel. So Long a Letter, the female characters are conveyed as victims of Senegalese societal patriarchy. The main character, Ramatoulaye Fall, is portrayed as a stereotypical Senegalese woman, who is silenced and oppressed by her community and society’s accepted norms. While Ramatoulaye is a progressive woman in the sense that she wants freedom and wants to be independent, she still submits to the Islamic laws she is exposed to. Even though her husband took a second wife, Ramatoulaye still feels like it is her duty to take care of his funeral and of everything that has to do with her late husband’s life. This proves that Islam influenced her life greatly and while she prides herself on being a feminist, she still remains governed by the laws she was taught to respect all her life.