Culture as a Stressor and Resource in Mariama Bâ’s So Long a Letter

Abstract

This study grouped the cultural practices in So Long a Letter into five categories including marriage customs, funeral and widowhood rites, widow inheritance and remarriage, communal culture and sisterhood, and motherhood and parenting. The theoretical framework was based on Antonovsky’s health promotion theory of salutogenesis and on the six paths he outlined on culture’s role in the Salutogenetic Model of Health (SMH). Cultural practices identified as complex, hostile, or inherently stressful were categorised as stressors, while traditions viewed as Generalised Resistant Resources (GRRs), or adaptable and stable and that helped one build a strong Sense of Coherence (SOC), or provided a perception of well-being were considered resources. The classification of a cultural habit as a stressor or resource or both varied with characters and circumstances. The analysis revealed that culture was more of a resource than a stressor in the novel. Additionally, although Ramatoulaye often complained about some practices and desired modernisation, she generally adapted and remained successfully integrated in the culture. Existing scholarship mostly depicts culture as oppressive to women in postcolonial African literature. This study makes a significant contribution by shifting the discourse to a more nuanced view of culture as both a resource and a stressor.