Love can refer to many different things for many different people.  The subject is immortalized through books and poetry, television and movies, theater and songs for millennia.  From Socrates to Shakespeare to Einstein, the topic has engaged no less than the brightest thinkers of multiple eras.  It warrants such attention by virtue of its shifting and enigmatic nature, confounding those who would subject it to order.  It is still commented on today, although to simplify it the focus has been shifted from a pure, spiritual love to a simply physical desire which is more easily understood.  This easy understanding of love, however, has not convinced everyone of its superior nature.  Indeed, there are those who continue to search for its meaning in the context in which it was originally imagined.  Still, it does not lend itself to easy analysis.

One such person is the character Ramatoulaye from Mariama Bâ’s So Long a Letter.  In her novel, Bâ presents a plethora of opinions and attitudes towards the topic of love, many of which contradict each other blatantly.  One of the main sources of confusion is Ramatoulaye herself, who has many opposing views on the subject.  This leads to a series of comparisons between Ramatoulaye’s many thoughts, and between her thoughts with the others around her.  This can pose a problem for the reader trying to follow Ramatoulaye’s thoughts, and may render multiple readings necessary.  If she were to pare down her views, though, it would be not true to the unflinching honesty which is associated with this character.

Much of the book, which is centered on the recent death of Ramatoulaye’s husband, becomes an extended reflection of her feelings about that marriage.  The recurring theme throughout her reflections is one of friendship vs. love, where friendship “has heights unknown to love” (Bâ, 54).  This feeling is echoed often, especially in grateful response to her friend Aissatou.  If one were to consider this quote alone, her views would seem plain enough.

This, however, is not all she has to say on the subject.  She also remarks on the ability of friendship to endure “the test of time and distance” (15), “which wearies and severs couples” (54).  This reveals not only her high opinion of friendship, but also the low regard with which she apparently views romantic love.  In these two quotes she not only elevates friendship as something which is wonderfully durable, but also remarks that it is much higher than love.  In fact, she says that not only are friendship’s qualities unattainable in love, but in fact love knows them not (54).  That is, love does not even know in what ways it is lacking. 

Thus far, Ramatoulaye’s statements hardly are indicative of a divided mind, seeming as she is to be firmly in favor of friendship.  It is difficult then to reconcile her beliefs that “the flavour of life is love.  The salt of life is also love” (64).  These seem to imply a much more romantic heart than previously exhibited.  She never denies the superiority of friendship, but admits that love, in effect, is what makes life interesting (its flavor).  One can survive on food without flavoring, and it will still supply all the same necessary nutrients.  Nevertheless, while it may sustain the body, if people have a choice they will not often choose solely with sustenance in mind.  They will choose what tastes good to them; what has flavor, and what is interesting. 

The same is true in Ramatoulaye’s life.  She “was surviving” (51) after Modou Fall’s betrayal, but her use of the word surviving implies that she was not wholly thriving, and thus not content with her situation.  She is not content in a bearable situation because she is not loved romantically.  The “love for [her] children sustained her” (53), but like food which sustains but does not inspire, this is not enough for her to be happy.  Indeed, she makes plain to her friend that she has “never conceived of happiness outside of marriage” (56).  Finally she claims that her “sadness [has] dissolved” (52), but she continues to call “eagerly to ‘another man’ to replace Modou” (52).  She is not desperate for friendship, but for love, which she seeks to fulfill her life.       

Since salt is often added to food to enhance its flavor, it appears that she has made the same remark twice.  Salt is not used solely, though, as a flavor additive.  It is also valued for its preserving qualities.  By comparing love to salt Ramatoulaye is saying that not only does love provide life’s flavor, but also has the potential to lengthen one’s lifespan.  Salt prevents meat from rotting which allows it to be safely eaten long after the meat has been taken from the animal (without refrigeration).  Following this same analogy, love then prevents life from ‘spoiling’.  It protects both the person in love from becoming bitter, and makes their relationships with the people around them ‘safe’. 

Thus it is that we have two opposing but equally strong opinions from Ramatoulaye on the nature of love.  On the one hand she is firmly convinced that it is inferior to friendship, and by its nature is doomed to failure as the relationship progresses.  In her thoughts, “a woman draws from the passing years the force of her devotion, despite the ageing of her companion, [while] a man…looks over his partner’s shoulder” (41).  With this perspective there does not seem to be any way to preserve a marriage, and love hardly seems worth pursuing since it cannot last. 

The simple answer for this lies with many in Bâ’s novel, such as Ramatoulaye’s mother and neighbor.  Her neighbor, Farmata, bluntly berates her for thought of “love instead of bread” (69).  Love is familiar to Farmata as a concept, but is not acceptable past a young age.  She does not have the same considerations as Ramatoulaye, then, about following one’s heart to find happiness in marriage.  For her marriage is a thing of security where love is seen as desirable, but not necessary in the slightest.  Her mother is also of this mind, who advised Ramatoulaye that she “must marry the man who loves her but never the one she loves; that is the secret of lasting happiness” (59).  This does not match Ramatoulaye’s opinions any more closely than Farmata’s. 

In her book, then, Bâ creates a character who explores the many facets of love.  Although she herself may not be searching for truth about love’s nature, this effectively is what she reveals to the reader through her reflections.  The other characters serve as a comparison for what love is not, and the discrepancy between their beliefs and Ramatoulaye’s only heightens the distinction between her views.  In the end her beliefs are never unified, and exist as they always have despite her recognition of her imperfections.      

Work Cited

Bâ, Mariama. Modupé Bodé-Thomas. So Long a Letter. Johannesburg: Heinemann, 1980.