ESSAY 3: PERSEPOLIS

Alexander Barker
HIST 339: Conflict in the Modern Middle East
April 28, 2017
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Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood is an autobiographical tale of Marjane Satrapis

upbringing in Tehran, Iran during the time of 1979 Iranian Revolution. Satrapi came from a very

well off family in Tehran that was very much opposed to the shah. Her extended family even

included people who had directly challenged the regime. Her parents protested in the streets, and

she grew very supportive of these protests. After the shah fell, her family was hopeful that a less

strict government would take power. Sadly, this was not the case. Satrapi was, herself, very

strong and firm in her opinions and beliefs. She was proud of her familys opposition to the

government and would often brag to her friends about her familys anti-government activities.

Throughout the novel, it becomes apparent that Satrapi grew up in a nation full of discontent and

tension. However, this does not dominate Satrapis life. One interesting thing that the novel

showcases is that one can be against a regime and stand firmly in that sentiment without allowing

it to dominate every aspect of their life. The novel actually kind of normalizes rebellion, making

it seem like a relatively mundane and normal activity that one can become accustomed to as part

of everyday life, depending on ones environment. Persepolis is an interesting novel that

provides a great deal of insight into the 1979 Iranian Revolution from the perspective of an upper

class young woman in Tehran.

Satrapis family background is introduced very early in the novel. She remarks that, at the

age of six, she was confident that she was the last prophet. She said that she wanted to be a

prophetbecause [her familys] maid did not eat with them. Because [her] father had a

Cadillac.1 This is a way of bringing up her familys social class. Her family has a high social

standing. Later, when Marjane gets to meet her uncle, Anoosh, he tells her about the struggles

that he endured since he worked with his Uncle Fereynoon, who Marjane is also related to.

1
Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, (Pantheon Books, New York), 6
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Anooshs uncle, Fereynoon, was the Minister of Justice in a region of Iran that had declared

independence from the rest of the country.2 This story shows how Satrapis family held a level of

political power over certain powers of the country, which they would not have been able to do

without a certain amount of status and prestige.

Satrapis maternal great grandfather was the shah of Iran before he was overthrown and

replaced by Reza Shah. To this same extent, her maternal grandfather was a prince who, after

Reza Shah took power, was made Prime Minister of Iran. He was a very educated man who,

despite believing that the idea that the rabble can rule,3 was ridiculous when he first read Marx,

later became a communist, after meeting Russian intellectuals. He remarked that he was

disgusted that people are condemned to a bleak future by their social class.4 His stance against

the shah often led to him being imprisoned and mistreated by the shahs regime. Because of this,

Satrapis mother lived in a poor home, and her mother had to take up sewing in order to put food

on the table. This most likely led to Satrapis mothers side of the family being even more

against the shahs regime. An example of this is Satrapis maternal grandmothers opinion that

dynasties have succeeded each other but the kings always kept their promises. The shah kept

none.5

Though Satrapis mothers side of the family suffered difficult times financially after the

shah came to power, both sides of the family were able to sustain themselves financially and

regain some of the status they had lost during the shahs rise to power and subsequent rule over

Iran, as was made evident by Marjanes fathers Cadillac and the familys use of a servant,

Mehri, to do household tasks. The main reason that Marjanes family lost a large amount of

2
Ibid., 55-61
3
Ibid, 23
4
Ibid., 23
5
Ibid., 27
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status was because of their opposition to the shah. Satrapis parents remained opposed to the

shah all throughout her childhood. When she was young, they would attend protests incredibly

often. Her father also took pictures of many protests, and the confrontations between the police

and protestors, though It was strictly forbidden.6 One day, Marjane, her mother, and her

maternal grandmother waited hours for her father to return home. Marjane was sure that he had

been killed until he came home safe and sound. This is just one example of the fear that people

had to live under if they were willing to actively oppose the Pahlavi regime.

This fear is the main reason that Satrapis parents would not allow her to come to any

protests with them for years, though she desperately wanted to join them. However, they could

not hold Marjane back forever. One day she and Mehri, the familys servant, who was like an

older sister to Marjane, went out and joined some demonstrators to protest. The worst thing

about this was that the girls had went out on Black Friday, a day during which so many

protestors were killed by the Pahlavi regime that a rumor spread that Israeli soldiers were

responsible for the slaughter.7 Satrapis parents were strongly against the regime, but did not

want to endanger their daughter in the process, though they were willing to put themselves on the

line for what they believed in.

Initially, Marjanes parents and the rest of her family were thrilled by Pahlavis loss of

the throne. As the Islamic Republic began to gain power, Marjanes Uncle Anoosh declared that

the religious leaders dont know how to govern. They will return to their mosques. The

proletariat shall rule! Its inevitable!!8 Anoosh, along with other members of the Satrapi family,

were confident that a real republic would be able to rise up out of the ashes of the Pahlavi

6
Ibid., 29
7
Ibid., 39
8
Ibid., 62
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regime. However, as 99.99% of the population voted for the Islamic Republic,9 in a rigged

election, the terror began to set in. Uncle Anoosh was still confident that the religious leaders

seizing of the government was just the product of the transitional period between the Pahlavi

regime and a new republic, but Marjanes parents, along with a great deal of her family,

rightfully thought otherwise. Much of Satrapis family left the country as the Islamic Republic

was beginning to assert its power, giving up on their dream of an Iranian republic not dominated

by religious influence. Marjanes parents also considered leaving, but, when her mother

suggested it to her father, her father pointed out that, if they left for the United States, he would

likely become a taxi driver10 and that she would become a cleaning lady, indicating that he did

not want to leave.

Soon after the Islamic Republic began executing people that they saw possible threats to

their domination of Iran, Uncle Anoosh was soon taken to prison. There, he was able to see

Marjane one last time, and told her that she was the little girl that [he] always wanted to have,

and that she was the star of [his] life.11 One of the reasons that many of Satrapis family

members had left was because they assumed that they would be thought of as dissident, as her

Uncle Anoosh was. Shortly after being put in prison, Anoosh was executed. Marjane and her

parents did turn out to be dissidents. One example of this was how the Satrapis kept alcohol in

their cellar even after the Islamic Republic made it illegal to drink alcohol.12 Marjane and her

parents continued to attend protests until, at one demonstration where women were protesting a

law forcing them to wear head scarves in public, many of the protestors were attacked by state

agents. Though Marjane and her parents still opposed the Iranian government, they were unable

9
Ibid., 63
10
Ibid., 63
11
Ibid., 69
12
Ibid., 106
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to be as vocal about it after the Islamic Republic came to power. Additionally, they were still

subject to nationalist sentiments, as Marjane and her father often celebrated Iranian military

victories in the Iranian-Iraqi War in the 1980s.13

After Irans borders were closed, only allowing people to leave under certain

circumstances and for small periods of time, the Satrapi family fully realized the nature of their

situation, and adapted to it well. Pressure from the new state led the Satrapi family to at least

give the impression that they were conforming to the rules of the new state, though they often did

not. One example of this is when Marjane would play with her head scarf in school or when her

parents snuck her in some illegal posters from Turkey by putting them in her fathers jacket. 14

During Marjanes teen years, her parents had her sent to Vienna, Austria, to receive a formal

education there, as they wanted a better life for her then the one that the Iranian state was likely

to give her.

Marjane Satrapi, at least in her youth, was rather head strong and confident in her

opinions. To that same extent, one could say that she was very stubborn. She was willing to stand

up for what she believed in and do whatever she thought was necessary to reach whatever end

goal she was pursuing. Learning was one of her passions, and she often studied and asked many

questions in order to discover more and more about the world around her. This could sometimes

get her into trouble, especially under a government that did not like people questioning its

authority. She was also very independent and would act very maturely for her age. In some

instances, this could be bad, as some people around her were not happy to see strong,

independent females. However, her parents and many others around her nurtured her

independent spirit. Additionally, she was very caring, and loved her family and friends very

13
Ibid., 85
14
Ibid., 97, 128
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much. She also loved her heritage and her country, and was very proud of what each had

accomplished. Her love for her heritage, family, friends, and country is the thing that made it the

hardest for her to leave Iran and travel to Vienna to receive an excellent education. Thankfully,

however, she did leave Iran. Otherwise, it is likely that Persepolis would have never been

published, and that would surely be a shame.

Bibliography

Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood. Pantheon Books, New York.