The novel by Hanan al-Shaykh The Story of Zahra and So Long a Letter by Mariama Ba both show how love is a matter of the mind. Life offers hardship but the battle to persevere separates assimilation in the two novels. These novels, viewed side by side, highlight how it takes more than just "forgiving and forgetting" to move forward in the pursuit of love, peace, and happiness. Ba and al-Shaykh describe different perspectives on how society, relationships, and mood influence mental stability. Al-Shaykh shows the downfall of a hard life when you punish yourself for your shortcomings, yet Ba takes the short and narrow road by putting circumstances aside to get to the bright side. In Zahra's story as a child Zahra was traumatized by the relationship, her uncle's affection, her relationships with men and the damage to herself. Zahra's father put work first and her family followed suit; her mother ruined her promise of loyalty to her husband and took Zahra with her for her affair; his uncle wanted to demonstrate inappropriate affection; and the men she interacted with were poor in the act of showing her true love. Al-Shaykh described Zahra's emotional and mental state when he wrote "If only I could bleed without having to suffer injuries." (al-Shaykh 23). Before this quote Zahra was sleepless because she felt a hand, which she thought was her cousin, on her thigh and she was afraid to sleep again; that touch reminded her of being at the cinema with her uncle when he put his arm around her shoulders and made her feel uncomfortable. Family is sacred and you have to trust her completely, but she has built a wall in defense of her entire being. Al-Shaykh uses defamiliarization to connect the reader's imagination to...... middle of paper ......ne in peace” (al-Shaykh 208) and take the life he did not have the chance to simply love again.Zahra, in The Story of Zahra, and Ramatoulaye, in So Long a Letter, have taken two different paths in their unique journey of life, love and happiness. Hanan al-Shaykh and Mariama Ba painted two similar paintings but achieved two separate meanings and motivations. Al-Shaykh used metaphors to weave Zahra's pain in his mind to fit something that would not be so pleasant. Ba used descriptive words and diction to emphasize the meaning of the statement. Both authors provided insight into the multiple effects that Africa – the people, culture, religion and traditions – have influenced relationships and individuals. Works Cited Al-Shaykh, Hanan. Zahra's story. Trans. Peter Ford. First edition by Anchor Books, 1986.Ba, Mariama. Such a long letter. Trans. Modup Bod-Thomas. Pearson Education. Limited 2008.