The first case of abandonment of traditions took place when Assioute decided to leave the country after her husband Mawdo choose to wed for a second time to a woman named Nabou. Assiout would not tolerate her husband taking on a second wife, so she decided to abandon her religious views of polygyny, and also leave her husband. In Islamic faith, it is acceptable and a common practice for a husband to have multiple wives, but with the new found education and enlightenment that Assiote received she chooses to leave him. Assioute could not tolerate the duality of love and the thought of Aissatou having physical relations with Nabou. The second case of abandonment of customs within So long a Letter was when Assoute pursued a higher education after the divorce of her husband. Woman of Islamic tradition are usually housewives. After her divorce she found herself going back to school and advancing in her career field; in which she then became appointed to the Senegal embassy within the United States. It is very uncommon for a woman in Senegal to reach such social power, especially in a culture that is dominated by men. Once Assoute abandoned Mawdo, Mawdo became heartbroken and explained to Ramatoulaye his reasoning behind his decision. .
Mawdo explains to ramma that his mother Aunty Nabou forced him to marry Nabou because he did not want to disgrace his mother. Aunty Nabou was a part of the generation that wanted to preserve her traditions and did not accept the modernization of ideas that was taking hold of Senegal. She felt that her son should marry a woman of royalty, unlike Assouoite who was the daughter of a goldsmith and was poor as a child. Once the time was right she present young Nabou to him stating that if he did not wed her it would bring great disgrace to her and the family. He took her as his second wife stating it as a reason for duty. Even though Mawdo became an activist for change in Senegal, he was unable to abandon the traditions of his culture which led to Assoutie abounding him.