Gender, Patriarchy and the New Woman: Generational Preferences in Mariama Ba’s So Long a Letter

This paper demonstrates that female African novelists have had a great
and vital influence on the understanding of the cultural constraints that
exist within the patriarchal frames of reference concerning women and
the choices they make. Mariama Ba offers a rich and diverse
interpretation and understanding of the politics of gender and individual
choices common within conservative communities as far as crossgenerational differences are concerned. This work therefore underscores
the fact that African societies as exemplified in Ba’s So Long a Letter have
for a long time practised systems of meanings and values in maledominated contexts that work at the expense of women and their
emotional stability. Understanding the concept of gender is therefore
critical because of its dynamism in nature based on generational
appraisal. It has a lot of ramifications provoked by intelligence, polemical
grace, and a contagious pledge to expose the complexities of womanhood.
The paper concludes that the older generation displays a complex sense
of compliance and devotion to patriarchal values without challenging
them, while the new generation confronts their apprehensions and
despair to express their uniqueness. The feminist theory will used to
buttress my arguments.

Keywords: Gender, patriarchy, culture, generational, new woman