At the mirasse, relatives learn that Modou owed debt to many and also left Ramatoulaye for a second wife, Binetou and accumulated more debt by attempting to provide financially for his second wife and her mother. Ba's creates sultry scenery and allows the main character a chance to express her feelings in the form of a letter.

             In the novel we discover Ramatoulaye, and lifelong friend Aissatou receive education at an all-girls school where the goal of the education they receive is to emancipate girls from the traditional roles of African woman. After attaining a higher education than most they feel the need to disregard tradition and marry on the basis of love. Both women marry for love and develop productive marriages. During their marriage, both husbands decide to take a second wife - and each woman makes a different choice in their marriages. Ramatoulaye decides to stay married even though it meant two things; barely seeing her husband and knowing that he spends all his money on his second wife which happens to be a friend of her daughter. Ramatoulaye's friend chooses the latter, divorces her husband and eventually leaves the country to settle in the United States.

             In her letter, Ramatoulaye examines her life and that of other women of Senegal. She examines their upbringing and training and the cultural restrictions placed upon them. Ramatoulaye develops an understanding of her own actions, her own desires, and through this revelation, she deals with the difficult entanglement of sexism and tradition within the African society. Writing becomes a form of escape and a method of fighting in gender identity for Ramatoulaye. She uses the letter as a link between oral communities and arenas of political action. Writing can be a powerful means of protest and change; it is a device through which Ba mediates the conflict between patriarchy and women's struggle to claim public space. Letter-writing becomes a form of community building within Africa and among women at large, as the final note sounds is one of hope for community, evoking a sense that the journey towards happiness is worth the risk of having to write so long a letter.