Marjane Satrapi Persepolis Graphic Book

Marjane understands how fear fuels despotism. Fear prompts people to act in spite of great personal risk or else repress their true will and even sacrifice their integrity. Wise from a young age, Marjane pinpoints the deeper motivations in human nature to either conform or to rebel, understanding systems of political power and the motivations for social movements. Even prior to the Revolution, Persian people experienced systematic oppression through pressures to conform to their traditions. As her father says, “We Iranians, we’re crushed not only by the government but by the weight of our traditions!” (Satrapi, 342). The Revolution brought with it a far more intense mechanism of social and political control than in generations before, though, leading to the internalization of intense fear and also behavioral externalizations of repression and anger. Marjane’s views are often dichotomous, perhaps owing to her youth, and yet she also exhibits a striking mixture of cynicism and idealism that belies her age. Ultimately, Marjane comes to understand most poignantly the role gender plays in systematic oppression in Iran and elsewhere. She finally decides to leave Iran out of tremendous frustration at the inability to transform her intelligence and passion into meaningful change.
The Revolution was in many ways a culmination of oppression, as even during the days of the Shah political dissidents were treated harshly. Marjane devotes a considerable portion of the first part of Persepolis to her uncle Anoosh for this reason: to convey the various ways political regimes use mechanisms of fear and physical oppression to maintain control and power. It is not the nature of the political philosophy—communist or theocratic as it may be—but the mechanisms of social control and the means by which fear is used as a means of social control. Through her uncle’s story, Marjane learns how one either preserves personal integrity, as Anoosh did, or sacrifices their beliefs out of fear of persecution, imprisonment, or death. Marjane contends with the realization that, even within the intellectual social milieu in which she finds herself, that not everyone possesses the courage or personal integrity to work for political ideals and social justice. “The regime had absolute power...and most people, in search of a cloud of happiness, had forgotten their political conscience,” (Satrapi, 326). Even when Marjane’s father points out that half the country is illiterate and vulnerable for manipulation by the government, it becomes apparent that the religious authorities coming to power capitalize on the mechanisms of fear that drive not only the illiterate but the intellectuals as well (Satrapi, 66). Also through Anoosh’s tale, Marjane learns how and why some of her country’s greatest minds end up fleeing. By the time Marjane is in college, the regime has thoroughly succeeded in that the majority of dissidents were either dead or had fled the country.
Young people within the regime are repressed in numerous ways, primarily through restrictions on freedom of expression. Repression initially comes in the form of a ban on higher education, which the government claims is a tool of imperialism. Thus, the Islamic Republic bans universities for several years, exacerbating the brain drain and preparing the foundation for a new generation of sheep-like Iranians (Satrapi, 77). Later, the restrictions on access to media are a meaningful means of repressing the vital ideas of Persian youth. The satellite ban is a potent symbol of repression, preventing young people from effectively accessing global viewpoints and alternative worldviews (Satrapi, 327). Marjane becomes more involved in the media and creative arts, and later learns that the press is “examined with a magnifying glass” (Satrapi, 337). She and her colleagues realize “you pay dearly for freedom of expression these days” (Satrapi, 338). The arrest and torture of journalists is a powerful reminder of the regime’s totalitarian approach, which causes the clever to use creative means of rebelling. Marjane also reflects on the ways young people bonded together, saying “we were completely united” in rebelling against the repressive religious authorities in school (Satrapi, 101). Young people also participate in protests even when they are not permitted to do so, and engage in typical teenage behaviors like cutting class, flirting with members of the opposite sex, and smoking or drinking. As petty as some of these behaviors may seem, they could be construed of as politically subversive during and after the Revolution.
Supported by her family, Marjane uses whatever means are at her disposal to rebel against the repressive elements of her society. The most important way Marjane can rebel is against repressive gender norms. She realizes early on that the religious authorities are systematically preventing women from participating in society by restricting them to domestic duties. Marjane occasionally does small things that are viewed as being profoundly rebellious, such as wearing her head scarf the wrong way or wearing makeup (Satrapi, 334). According to the religious authorities, marriage and childrearing were the only goals of a woman’s life. Marjane was not raised to believe that women were inferior to men, which is why she is appalled that women’s testimony in court is rendered invalid or that they cannot extricate themselves from a marriage. One incident that has a profound impact on Marjane is when one of her mentors at work Behzad—who she ironically admired for his political courage—proves himself to be oblivious to his own misogyny in the way he treats is wife. Behzad does not let his wife speak, and ensures Mandana is a housewife even though their child is almost nine years old. After this incident, Marjane makes up her mind to leave and divorce Reza in spite of the consequences. She claims, using all caps for emphasis, “I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE. I WANT TO LEAVE THIS COUNTRY,” (Satrapi, 342). Unable to “build anything in my own country,” Marjane leaves, and with her mother’s blessing vows never to return (Satrapi, 342). Her rebellion is paradoxically built on the premise that in her self-imposed exile, she will be capable of doing so much more to help her country than she ever could within its confines.
Works Cited
Satrapi, Marjane. The Complete Persopolis. Pantheon Ebook.