Vol. 7, Issue 1, Part D (2025)

This paper explores the theme of eco-criticism in So Long a Letter (Une si longue lettre) by Mariama Bâ, analyzing the novel’s engagement with environmental issues and the natural world. Although primarily concerned with gender, societal norms, and personal identity, *So Long a Letter* also implicitly touches on the relationship between human beings and the environment, particularly in the context of post-colonial Senegal. Through an eco-critical lens, the novel’s representation of nature, the urban-rural divide, and human interactions with their environments provides a rich framework for exploring how eco-criticism can help us understand the broader socio-cultural dynamics in African literature. This research paper discusses the ways in which nature functions symbolically in Bâ’s narrative and how eco-criticism offers new insights into the ways characters, particularly women, navigate their relationships with their surroundings.