Binetou Character Analysis in So Long a Letter

Modou’s second wife, and a friend of Daba. She is only 17 when she reluctantly marries Modou. She does so at the urgings of her family, who are after Modou’s money. Binetou survives her marriage to Modou by making fun of him, ordering him around, and making him buy her things.

Binetou Character Timeline in So Long a Letter

The timeline below shows where the character Binetou appears in So Long a Letter. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...hospital in order to dress the body. In accordance with custom, Modou’s young second wife, Binetou, is installed in Ramatoulaye’s house, to receive guests alongside her. Ramatoulaye is bothered by her... (full context)

...serving her estranged relatives. Modou’s sisters shower praises and words of consolation over Ramatoulaye and Binetou, but it bothers Ramatoulaye that they give equal consideration to both—Binetou was married to Modou... (full context)

...one-up everyone else by giving the most cash. The proceeds are divvied up among Ramatoulaye, Binetou and her family, and Modou’s family. Binetou’s mother and Modou’s sisters get the lion’s share,... (full context)

Finally Binetou and the relatives clear out, leaving destruction in their wake: Ramatoulaye’s floors are blackened and... (full context)

...It is then revealed that the chic villa in which Modou had been living with Binetou and Binetou’s mother was acquired on a bank loan originally granted to both Modou and... (full context)

...to abandon her, not to mention their twelve children, in order to marry the 17-year-old Binetou. Ramatoulaye compares her fate to that of the blind, disabled, and destitute, asking how those... (full context)

...misfortune. Her teenaged daughter, Daba, begins to spend a lot of time with a friend Binetou; together they are preparing for a standardized test. Modou often offers to drive Binetou home... (full context)

On the day that Binetou is to be married to her sugar daddy, Modou’s brother Tamsir, Mawdo, and a local... (full context)

Daba, who was also kept in the dark about the true identity of Binetou’s sugar daddy, is infuriated, and implores Ramatoulaye to leave Modou just like Aissatou left Mawdo.... (full context)

Ramatoulaye compares and contrasts Nabou and Binetou. Nabou is full of poise and tact, thanks in part to Aunty Nabou’s intense involvement... (full context)

...resolves to “look reality in the face.” As she explains, reality consists of Lady Mother-in-Law (Binetou’s mother) living a pampered, “gilded” life on Modou’s dime. It also consists of the odd... (full context)

...and she must make certain compromises, such as making her children ride public transport, while Binetou and Lady Mother-in-Law drive around in a fancy new car. (full context)

...of mourning her will marry her, explaining that he prefers her to the “other one” (Binetou, that is). (full context)

...the men seem to be after her inheritance, which she has recently won back from Binetou and Binetou’s mother. Most notably, Ramatoulaye—with the help of her daughter Daba and Daba’s husband—has... (full context)