Persepolis (comics)

This article is about the graphic novel. For the film based on the novel, see Persepolis (film). For the ancient city, see Persepolis. For other uses, see Persepolis (disambiguation).

Persepolis
Cover of Persepolis Books 1 and 2
Date	2000
Creative team
Writers	Marjane Satrapi
Artists	Marjane Satrapi
Original publication
Published in	L'Association
Date of publication	2000
Language	French
ISBN	2844140580
Translation
Publisher	Pantheon Books
Date	2003, 2004, 2005
ISBN	0-224-08039-3

Persepolis (ISBN 0-224-08039-3) is a French-language autobiographical graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi depicting her childhood in Iran during and after the revolution. The title is a reference to the historical town of Persepolis.

Drawn in black and white, the graphic novel found great popularity following its release. The English edition combines the first two French books and was translated by Blake Ferris and Satrapi's husband, Mattias Ripa. The French editions of Persepolis 3 and Persepolis 4 were combined into a single volume, Persepolis 2 for the United States market. In the U.S., the Persepolis series is published by Pantheon Books.

Background

Persepolis details Satrapi's life during the war between Iran and Iraq. Persepolis depicts Satrapi's childhood in Iran, and Persepolis 2 depicts her high school years in Vienna, Austria and her return to Iran where Satrapi attended college, married, and later divorced before moving to France, where she now lives. Hence, the series is not only a memoir, but a Bildungsroman.

The fact that these memoirs were even written in the first place is quite remarkable. In a culture where a woman's modesty and reputation is of the utmost importance, it is inherently improper for a woman to expose her personal inner life or that of her family to the public. Therefore, it is not surprising that autobiographical works by Iranian women are rare, that they are a recent phenomenon, and that most such works have been published in the West, and not in Iran.

Awards won by Persepolis 2 include the Angoulême International Comics Festival Prize for Scenario in Angoulême, France, for its script and in Vitoria, Spain, for its commitment against totalitarianism. It has been translated into English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Greek, Swedish and other languages, and has sold 150,000 copies.

Summary

Summary of "Persepolis: The Story of A Childhood"

Section 1 (the veil): The first section sets the tone for the rest of the book. Marjane is forced to wear a veil at school, and she doesn't know what to think about it. Her parents protest against the revolution, and she is separated from her friends. At the core of her being is religion. It was for this reason that she submits to the authority of her teachers, who have told her of the religious symbolism behind the veil. This first section introduces her conversations with God in which she is "told" many things, some of which are that she is the celestial light, God's "last and best choice" for a prophet. Everyone, including her parents find this odd, so she lies about it, saying that she wants to be a doctor.

Section 2 (the bicycle): After a brief talk with her friends, in which she learns that revolutions are like bicycles (if they're not in motion, they will stop working) she starts to read about revolutionaries such as Fidel Castro and Che Guevara. Because of the constant misdeeds being committed by those who are in charge of the Iranian Police forces she decides that she wants to become a revolutionary like Che Guevara. Her parents, unwilling to allow their daughter to be put in danger, do not let her go to the protests saying that they were too dangerous.

Section 3 (the water cell): Although her parents protested every day, Marjane decided that she supported the king because he was chosen by God himself (This was told to her by her teacher). Her dad tells her a story about how the king was really chosen, and it had nothing to do with God. After the first king was chosen, it was simply passed down from father to son. She then learns that if the king of that line had not been overthrown, her grandfather would have become king. She is, of course, very excited to hear this. Her grandfather became the king's prime minister because he was well educated, but he was mistreated to the point of becoming a communist. She then learned from her mother that her grandfather was sent to prison. It was there that he lived the rest of his life under pain of torture. Marjane felt awful after hearing this and attempted to reconstruct one of her grandfather's tortures, being partially submerged in water for hours at a time, by staying in the tub for several hours.

Section 4 (Persepolis): Marjane's grandmother comes into town to visit and tells Marjane about the hardships and poverty of years past. She told of how she boiled water and pretended to be cooking to hide their poverty from the neighbors. They had no money because the Shah's father took everything they owned. Marjane then learned that although the father of the Shah was brutal, his son was ten times worse. It because of this that her grandfather was forced to stay in prison. Marjane's father does not come home from taking pictures of the riot on time and after a few hours they start to get scared. Marjane is sure that her father has been shot, but just as she is losing hope her father walks through the door with a full report of the day's events. The crowd saw a man's body being carried out of the hospital, and moments later the protesters lifted him up on their shoulders and marched him through town as a martyr. It turns out that the man had died of cancer, but when the crowd hears this they continued to honor him and protest the king, although now they are joined by the man's widow.

Section 5 (The Letter): Marjane goes to a book signing of her favorite author, who she refers to as "a local charles dickens" he writes about children who are forced into labor at an early age. Marjane starts to think about it, and realizes that that is the reason that she is embarrassed about her father driving a cadillac. She then thinks of the maid that lives with them, who had been forced into labor at an early age, just like in the book. They had more than one social class living under one roof. The maid falls in love with a boy living in the house next to theirs; they write love letters to each other, once a week. Marjane's father gets word of this and informs the boy next door that the woman that he is falling in love with is simply a maid. The boy is never seen again.

Section 6 (The Party) Marjane is becoming more aware of her political surroundings. She tells of the downfall of the shah and of how her parents had been protesting his reign like most Iranians. The party after his exile gives the section its name, she claims that it was the biggest party her country has ever known. After the celebration the transition to a new government is further illustrated by Marjane as she tells of tearing the shah's photograph from her textbook and of how her friends treated the children of seceret service members. Her mother lectures her on how she should be more forgiving. This makes her feel a need to apologize for her harsh actions.

Section 7 (The Heroes) Marjane tells of the relase of the political prisoners after the fall of the shah. Her family knew two of the men relased, Siamak Jari and Mohsen Shakiba. They arrive at her house and regale them with stories of their imprisonment. Marjane's parents forget to spare her this unfortunate story. The ex-convicts tell of how they were tortured and of how their friends were killed. Laly, the daughter of Siamak, is very proud of her father. She makes Marjane feel bad by touting this fact in front of Marjane whenever she gets a chance.

Section 8 (Moscow) Still upset by how her father is no hero she makes up stories to help make her feel better. One day her parents tell her of her uncle Anoosh. He is a war criminal and a hero in Marjane's eyes. He comes to visit and he tells her his story. He informs her of his uncle Fereydon and how he was killed by the shah. He tells her of how he himself went to the U.S.S.R. and married. After he divorced his wife he tried to re-enter Iran but was caught and imprisoned for nine years. This revelation makes Marjane proud to be related to Anoosh.

Section 9 (The Sheep) Marjane is under pressure from her family because she repeats fake statistics that she hear from the television. The creation of an Islamic Republic forced some of her friends leave Iran. A large portion of her family left the country shortly thereafter. Reports came in that Mohsen was killed by the new regime. As these similar stories come in, she is told by her parents that Anoosh has gone back to Moscow. Later on she learns that he was imprisoned. She is allowed to see him right before they execute him. The section ends with the beginning of the War.

Section 10 (The Trip) Marjane sees on the Television that the universities are being closed down by the new regime. Later her mother is insulted by the guardians of the reigime. She is sick and lies in bed for days. The new rules changes their neighbors' outlooks on the religious ideals. The veil was reinstated and there were to be no symbols of the west at all. Her parents took her to a demonstration to protest. There she witnessed police brutality and violence for the first time in her life. It was her last demonstration.

Summary of "Persepolis 2: The Story of Return"

Section 1 (The Soup): Marjane has just arrived in Vienna. She starts at a boarding house run by nuns and wondering what her room mate, Lucia, will be like. She then says why she was at the boarding house and not with her mother's friend, ZoZo. She, then, tells what happened at Shirin's house. Shirin's mother didn't seem to like Marjane much and there was a lot of fighting between Shirin's mother and Shirin's father. Plus Shirin isn't like Marjane remembers her and Marjane doesn't like the new Shirin. When she arrives at the boarding house, a nun shows her around. She then experiences the freedom she now has by going shopping for her own food. When she returns, she meets her roommate. Lucia speaks German so Marjane doesn't understand her until they were eating some soup and they found a way to communicate. The section ended by both girls watching a movie in the TV room and Marjane leaves.

Section 2 (Tyrol): Lucia wakes Marjane up every morning at 6:30 with her hair dryer. Marjane starts the section with complaining about Lucia's hair dryer. A little after that, Marjane starts to make friends at school when she gets the highest grade on a math test. She also becomes very popular for her portraits of people. Later, she is introduced to people who become her friends. They talk about what they are going to do during their Christmas break, which makes Marjane feel left out because she doesn't celebrate Christmas and the Iranian New Year isn't until March. She goes back to her room and tells Lucia how she feels. Lucia offers to take her to her home town over the holiday to meet her parents. She went to the evening mass and had dinner with them.

List of Characters

• Marjane 'Marji' Satrapi - the rebellious young Iranian heroine. Marjane is called the "rebel" because she goes against the rules sets by the Iranian republic. Born in 1969, Marjane grows up in Iran, goes to school in Vienna, and then returns home. By the end of the story, she realizes that she can no longer live under the oppression in Iran, and leaves to live in France. The author of the Persepolis books, she still lives in France today.

Family

• Ebi Satrapi - Marjane's father. Ebi is a very honest and good man who demonstrates against the Shah and then the Islamic Republic. He lets his daughter live as she wants, but guides her wisely along the way.
• Taji Satrapi - Marjane's mother. She also demonstrated against the Shah and the Islamic Republic until she is involved in a violent demonstration against the obligatory wearing of head scarves, in which another protester is stabbed in the leg. She is somewhat stricter than Ebi, and more emotional.
• Grandma - Marjane' grandmother. She is Taji's mother. She has a strong sense of right and wrong, and does not hide her opinions.
• Uncle Anoosh - Marjane's beloved uncle. He worked for his uncle Fereydoon, who declared an Azeri province of Iran independent. Fereydoon was thrown in jail and executed while Anoosh escaped to the USSR. When Anoosh came back he was thrown in jail for 9 years. When he was freed he met Marjane and loved her immediately. He gave her a swan he made out of breadcrumbs while in jail and told her stories. Then, he was arrested following the Islamic revolution and asked to see Marjane as his last visitor. He gave her another bread swan. Anoosh was accused of being a Russian spy and was executed very soon after he saw Marjane, leaving her distraught.

In Tehran

• Mehri - Marjane's au pair. She is illiterate, complicating her romance with one of their neighbors as Marjane serves as their go between.
• Arash - one of Marjane's street friends.
• Kiamaana - one of Marjane's friends who fights in the war and loses his arm and leg. He is also confined to a wheelchair.
• Pardisse - a girl whose father is killed in the bombing of Baghdad.
• Kaveh - Marjane's friend, whom she had a crush on. He moved to America.
• Siamak - a prisoner released after the fall of the Shah. Flees Iran after his sister is murdered by agents of the Republic.
• Mohsen - another prisoner, cruelly drowned in his bathtub by the Shah's cruel secret police.
• Mali - Taji's friend whose town is bombarded, and seeks refuge with Marji's parents.
• Laly - Siamak's daughter, who holds a grudge against Marji after being told her father was probably dead. Her father's hardships spur Marji to look for heroes in her own family.
• Neda - Daughter of the Baba-Levys, a Jewish family living across the street from the Satrapis. She and her family are killed when their building is struck by a missile.

In Vienna

• Zozo - Marjane's mother's friend, a grumpy Iranian-turned-Austrian who takes Marjane in for ten days
• Housah - Zozo's overworked husband, whom she blames for the family's relative poverty in Austria.
• Sherin - Their banal daughter.
• Lucia - Marjane's Tyrolean roomie at the Catholic boarding house where she is dumped by Zozo.
• Julie - Marjane's 18 year old friend who eventually becomes her roommate. Her sexual promiscuity amazes Marjane at first.
• Momo - Marjane's 16 year old friend, a nihilist who only hangs out with her because she has known death and war.
• Oliver and Thierry - Swiss orphans who deal recreational drugs in between classes.
• Ingrid - Marjane's friend who teaches her the art of meditation.
• Frau Doctor Heller - One of Marjane's landlords in Austria, a crackpot psychiatrist (in Marjane's estimation) who accuses her of stealing her brooch and thinks she is being a prostitute when she sees her leave the house, dressed to party.
• Svetlana - the Yugoslavian chef at the Cafe Sole where Marjane works for a while. When a customer pinches Marjane's behind, Svetlana spits into his food in revenge.

Boyfriends

• Fernando - A Spaniard/Austrian who turns out to be gay.
• Jean-Paul - Only likes Marjane as a friend
• Markus - the Viennese love of Marjane's life and her first real boyfriend, who slept with her and who breaks her heart after two years of dating, when Marjane finds him in bed with another girl on her birthday.
• Reza - Marjane's Iranian boyfriend who eventually becomes her husband. After three years of marriage, they divorce.

Literary Elements

Themes

• Resistance to Tyranny:
• Education As Resistance:
• The Bonds of Family:

Motifs

• War:
• Feminism:
• Religion:

Symbols

Archetypes

Presentation

• Black and White Illustrations: The stark contrast of the black and white drawings with the inherent "gray" nature of real life illustrates the confusions with which Marjane experiences her world. Although she has been taught by the Iranian government not to question its authority, and to view things in "black and white," she knows that most of what they do is wrong, and that we need the "gray," so that we can make decisions for ourselves, and live our own lives, freely.

Epilogue

After divorcing her husband in 1993, Marjane moved to France. She met comic book artist David B. who she studied under and later adopted his style. She published Persepolis in 2000 in France with later editions 2-4 coming out in 2001, 2002, and 2003, respectively. Persepolis became a film in May 2007, premiering at the Cannes Film Festival and receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature in 2008. Marjane lives in Paris with her second husband.

Reception

The graphic novel was generally well-received following its release. For example, TIME included the first part in its "Best Comix of 2003" list. Andrew Arnold of TIME described the Persepolis as "sometimes funny and sometimes sad but always sincere and revealing." Kristin Anderson of the The Oxonian Review of Books of Balliol College, University of Oxford said "While Persepolis’ feistiness and creativity pay tribute as much to Satrapi herself as to contemporary Iran, if her aim is to humanise her homeland, this amiable, sardonic and very candid memoir couldn’t do a better job."

Film

Marjane Satrapi at the premiere of the film version of Persepolis

Main article: Persepolis (film)

Persepolis has been adapted into an animated film, by Sony Pictures Classics. The film is voiced by Catherine Deneuve, Chiara Mastroianni, Danielle Darrieux and Simon Abkarian, among others. It debuted at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize. The film drew complaints from the Iranian government even before its debut at the festival. The film was nominated for an Academy Award in 2008 for best animated feature.

References

• Davis, Rocio G. (2005). "A Graphic Self: Comics as Autobiography in Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis," Prose Studies 27(3), pp.264–279.
• Malek, Amy. (2006). "Memoir as Iranian Exile Cultural Production: A Case Study of Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis Series," Iranian Studies vol.39(3), pp.353–380.
• Hendelman-Baavur, Liora. (2008). "Guardians of New Spaces: "Home" and "Exile" in Azar Nafisi's Reading Lolita in Tehran, Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis Series and Azadeh Moaveni's Lipstick Jihad," HAGAR Studies in Culture, Polity and Identities, vol.8(1),pp.45–62.

External links

• Persepolis official film site
• Production blog for the film
• New York Times article about the film (Jan. 21, 2007)