“Nothing of me is original. I am the combined effort of everyone I’ve ever known. ” (Palahniuk) In Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi undergoes magnificent changes on her way to adulthood as she encounters the love of family, the horrors of war, heartbreak, drugs, loneliness, alienation, oppression, marriage and divorce, accomplishment, and autonomy. Satrapi’s identity is formed by her childhood in Iran and solidified by her path to maturity through Austria and a return to Iran that are intertwined with her country’s tumultuous narrative.
Satrapi’s family plays a very important role in the formation of her familial and moral values. Her parents set an example for Marji, teaching her to stand up for what they thought was right and protest the false divinity of the shah, prompting her to do her own protesting, first in her garden, and then on the streets with her maid chanting “down with the king! ”. (P. 1-10) Eventually, they even bring her to a protest to teach her “to defend her rights as a woman”. (P. 1-76) This and events like it instilled in Satrapi confidence in herself and what she knew was right.
Throughout the narrative, she exhibits this confidence by standing up to lying teachers, strict nuns, a seemingly crazy owner of a house she lived at in Vienna, and even a Kuwaiti refugee that thought her a prostitute. Her mother also instills in her a value of education when, after skipping class, she tells Marji that “you have to know everything better than anyone else if you’re going to survive”. (P. 1-113) Furthermore, her uncle Anoosh, a revolutionary himself, told Marji stories about his life and taught her the importance of storytelling, that their “family memory must not be lost”. P. 1-60) She seems to have kept her family memory alive for the whole world with her novels. Perhaps most importantly, Marji’s grandmother was a very strong influence on her in her formative years and beyond. Her grandmother is the one that introduced her to reading in the book and sparked her thirst for knowledge. She brings her books so that Marji will understand “why the people are revolting” against the government. (P. 1-28) After this Marji reads all kinds of things, she “read all the books (she] could”(P. 1-32).
Later while in Vienna when she has little to do she reads because she felt as though she “had to understand everything” to educate herself. (P. 2-21) Her grandmother also acts as a moral compass, telling her to “always keep [her] dignity and be true to [herself]” before she leaves for Vienna. (P. 1-150) Marji remembers her grandmother’s words when she lies about her nationality to a boy, showing how they have a profound effect on Satrapi. Additionally, when Marjane lies about a man disrespecting her to avoid being arrested for wearing makeup, her grandmother yells at her for the first time in her life.
Marjane “decided that it would also be the last”, and vows to live by her grandmother’s wisdom. (P. 2-137) Before going to Austria, Marjane feels like a westerner in anti-western Iran, illustrated by the cover of the book, with Marji in a small region of blue surrounded by red. The blue represents westernism and the red represents the islamic culture of Iran. Her westernism is further represented by a fascination with the western music of Kim Wilde, Iron Maiden, and Michael Jackson to name a few.
Marjane even expresses her disregard for Islamic laws by wearing western apparel in public, almost getting apprehended by the Guardians of the Revolution in the process for wearing “symbols of decadence”. (P. 1-133) Once in Vienna Satrapi starts to feel like an outsider to western culture, This outsider status is again illustrated by the cover of the second book, Satrapi is in a small region of red surrounded by blue, an obvious converse of the first book’s cover. While she is in Austria “Iran was the epitome of evil and to be Iranian was a heavy burden to bear”, making her feel alienated in the culture she used to self identify as part of. P. 2-41)
This experience of cultural reversal and the animosity that came with it made her desire and value her home and her family more. This is evident when Marjane’s mom visits her in Vienna and she refers to Iranian cuisine as “the heavenly food of my country”, and when it was relaxing to talk to someone and “not have to explain [her] culture”. (P. 2-52) Her time in Vienna had made her more amicable to her Iranian culture. The nearly continuous fighting that took place as Satrapi was growing up was integral in the development of her identity. The injustices that Marji witnessed and was told about made her a very empathetic person.
When Marji first heard about her grandfather being in prison and being tortured by being kept in a cell filled with water for long periods of time, she took an extra long bath because she “wanted to know what it felt like to be in a cell filled with water”. (P. 1-25) Similarly, when Marji’s dad find out about the letters she had been writing for the maid’s love interests who are of different “social class”, Marji is very troubled. (P. 1-37) Additionally, the Islamic regime and its many injustices, martyrs, and executions undoubtedly shaped Satrapi’s overall character and influenced her decision to move to France and become “a free woman”. P. 2-187)
Marjane Satrapi, whatever her intent was for Persepolis, details in the novel the many factors that led to the person she became at the end of the story. Through Family ties, through traveling abroad, and through living in a war torn country, became the compassionate, dignified Iranian woman that decide to move to France, away from the turmoil of her country. Of all of the characteristics that make up Satrapi in the book, her grandmother’s influence was one of the most important.
