Personal code: Idz973
May 2024 Candidate
English Higher-Level Essay
Line of inquiry: In her novel, Persepolis, how does Satrapi
represent the experiences of women during the Islamic
Revolution?
Number of words: 1,500
Being a woman comes with a lot of responsibilities and hardships. Marjane Satrapi
represents traditional gender roles and the experiences of woman during the Islamic
Revolution by depicting women as complex and multifaced people who had to resist
and adapt to the oppressive conditions that they had to face in her graphic novel
Persepolis, hence, their resilience. She also uses symbolisation, visual imagery,
juxtaposition, emanate, irony, speech bubbles and dialogue to accentuate her ideas.
Marjane Satrapi is a French Iranian graphic novelist who spent her childhood in Iran
during the Islamic revolution. (Luebering,2024) The Islamic revolution was a popular
uprising in the Muslim majority in Iran from 1978-79. It resulted in the toppling of the
authoritarian government that was led by the Shan of Iran, Mohammed Reza
Pahlavi. (Maloney, 2019)
Figure 1 (Satrapi, Persepolis, Paris, 2002)
Firstly, from Figure 1, we can clearly see Marjane and her friends wearing the veil in
school. The girls are frowning and have crossed arms which indicate discomfort and,
in a way, force. The whole chapter titled “The Veil” talks about Marjane’s experience
and how it affected her family and women around her area. Marjane’s own struggle
with the veil demonstrates an embodiment of the resistance against this oppressive
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symbol. She resists by refusing to wear the veil and facing the disciplinary action in
school.
Additionally, due to Marjane still being very young in the text, it is natural for her to
not clearly understand what is going on. She questions why women should be forced
to wear the veil, “We don’t really like to wear the veil, especially since we don’t
understand why we had to” (Satrapi,3). Her questioning indicates her rejection and
feelings towards the traditional gender norms that are directed by society. As a
result, Satrapi argues the belief that women in Iran should adhere to the strict dress
codes to be protected. The first device present is symbolism, and it is seen in the
veil. The veil represents the restrictions that women had to go through after the
Islamic Revolution. Marjane uses visual imagery and symbolism to reach all her
audience while making her point valid.
Moreover, Tarji, Marjane’s mother finds herself caught between oppression of the
Islamic theocracy and the empowerment of education. She finds herself compelled
to stand up and register her voice against the oppressive regime, through protests
and not wearing the veil. However, the voice is curtailed by the authorities as she is
identified as that woman who was rebelling against the regime. When she puts on
the veil, she is succumbing to the oppressive demands of the government. Tarji is
forced to change her identity and this experience is symbolic of how the regime has
used its strength to oppress its women psychologically and physically.
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Figure 2 (Satrapi, Persepolis, Paris, 2002)
Additionally, there is no doubt that the society and government rules exhibit a biased
outlook towards males when it comes to self-expression. As seen on Figure 2,
woman must be completely covered, not letting a single strand of hair be seen to the
public. If done so, it seems as if the woman is speaking against the regime which is
labelled as a crime. On the other hand, the men can show facial hair and are known
to be “The fundamentalist men”. The excuse for women having to be fully covered is
because when women show hair, it makes the men excited. Irony and visual imagery
are depicted in Figure 2 where the men are allowed to show skin and the women are
not.
Furthermore, men and women reacted differently to these changes. Men seemed to
have embraced the new regime and its values whereas for women, it was more
difficult for them to adapt to as many women felt that their freedom had been taken
away.
Moreover, Education also plays a fundamental role in this graphic novel. Marjane’s
parents understand the importance of education and it will shape Marjane to an
independent young girl, hence they encourage her to “Study, so that you won’t
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depend on anyone.” (Satrapi,93). Not only does education equip Marjane to gain
knowledge, but it also allows her to sense the society norms of being educated.
Marjane is a naturally curious individual, hence she is drawn into books. Marji, was
the maid for Marjane’s family. Both Marjane and Marji had a close bond despite their
differences in economic statuses. This portrayal of juxtaposition and use of satiric
ideas of the society shows the differences exist in our minds.
Similarly, Chapter 3, The water cell, primarily focuses on Marjane developing her
political opinions. She also delves deeper into her own heritage and how not
everything had to be romanticized like her grandfather who was a prince. Her
grandfather did live a painful life because he spent most of his time in prison.
“Sometimes they put him a cell filled with water for hours” (Satrapi ,24). At that
moment, Marjane forgets about playing a game with her parents and wanted to take
a bath so she could know “What it felt like to be in a cell filled with water.” (Satrapi
,25). Demonstrates that the children’s experiences and growth are thwarted by
adults who want to tell them and not allow them to learn by experience.
Furthermore, Marjane’s parents supported the idea of her being educated and
asking questions on the situations that are happening regardless of her being just
nine years old. Because of Marjane being able to formulate her own opinions, it
results in her challenging the traditional gender roles as it is not common for women
who have little education to protest for freedom and the truth, especially during
Islamic Revolution. Juxtaposition is used in the Key chapter where boys fall prey to
the Government’s propaganda to enlisting so that they can be martyrs.
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Figure 3(Satrapi, Persepolis, Paris, 2002)
Figure 4(Satrapi, Persepolis, Paris, 2002)
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Figure 5(Satrapi, Persepolis, Paris, 2002)
Consequently, Satrapi can give insight of women oppression and identity through the
maid and the virgin due to their difference in roles and representation. The maid,
Mehri, represents a women’s strength, and persistence because of her
stubbornness, indicating the usage of irony. Mehri was often a source of comfort and
strength which demonstrates the strength and resilience of women. (Figure 3,4,5).
Emanata is seen in Figure 4 showcasing that Mehri is having more fun than the
Marjane. On the other hand, the vigilantes were known as a group of women who
sided with the regime. Satrapi depicts the vigilantes' suppression of female
autonomy by drawing a panel of them breaking up a group of women who are
dancing and listening to music. They also show supremacy when they find Marjane’s
tight jeans and not wearing her veil properly. (Figure 6,7,8) .They would be a
constant reminder of the restrictions that were placed on women regarding their
behaviour and attire as they were always armed, and brain washed by the theocratic
state.
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Figure 6 (Satrapi, Persepolis, Paris, 2002)
Figure 7(Satrapi, Persepolis, Paris, 2002)
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Figure 8(Satrapi, Persepolis, Paris, 2002)
Figure 9(Satrapi, Persepolis, Paris, 2002)
Furthermore, Satrapi uses dialogue to form conversations between the other
characters to show the thoughts and perspectives of different characters so that the
audience can understand. This also helps in building relationships and bonds within
the characters. It gives a glimpse of different viewpoints such as the western and
traditional cultural differences, war, and women roles.
Moreover, flashbacks are used to juxtapose the situation of women before the
revolution and their present situation. As a result, the audience can form a clear
understanding of why the women are protesting and hence empathise with them.
These flashbacks allow the reader to contrast between the previous experiences
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with the present situations seen in Figure 7 and Figure 8. Figure 7 displays emanata
when the lady tugs on Marjane’s veil. The tugging is done with force. This could
convey to the readers the lady’s internal rage against Marjane. Speech bubbles are
used as a literary device to form a communication source between the characters.
This is so readers can understand the ideas that are being communicated through
the characters, Figure 6 and 7.
Likewise, juxtaposition takes place when scenes of political events are compared
with panels that bring the reader back to today. This approach aims to depict the
interactions that women must deal with as well as comparing it to their previous lives.
This is evident on page 18, where Marjane was talking about how her parents used
to protest every day, they were throwing stones, while the panel next to it displays
the current parents sitting on the couch. (Figure 8 past, 9 present)
In conclusion, Satrapi challenges traditional gender roles and represents the
expression of women in the graphic novel by presenting strong female characters
that go through similar experiences that women in Iran went though at that time.
Satrapi includes minor but important pieces in the novel that represent culture of
women such as the veil and Marjane’s education statues. With the help of literary
devices, she can enhance the representation of the expression of women. She uses
symbolisation, visual imagery, juxtaposition, emanata, speech bubbles, irony as well
as dialogue to achieve this.
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Appendix
Figure 1(Satrapi, Persepolis, Paris, 2002)
Figure 2(Satrapi, Persepolis, Paris, 2002)
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Figure 3(Satrapi, Persepolis, Paris, 2002)
Figure 4(Satrapi, Persepolis, Paris, 2002)
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Figure 5(Satrapi, Persepolis, Paris, 2002)
Figure 6(Satrapi, Persepolis, Paris, 2002)
Figure 7(Satrapi, Persepolis, Paris, 2002)
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Figure8 (Satrapi, Persepolis, Paris, 2002)
Figure 9(Satrapi, Persepolis, Paris, 2002)
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References:
J.E. Luebering (2019). Marjane Satrapi | Iranian artist and writer. In: Encyclopædia
Britannica. [online] Available at:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Marjane-Satrapi. [Accessed: Dec 2nd
2023]
Marjane Satrapi (2002). Persepolis. Paris: L’association, Copyright. [Accessed: Dec
2nd 2023]
Maloney, S. and Razipour, K. (2019). The Iranian revolution—A timeline of events.
[online] Brookings. Available at: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-iranianrevolution-a-timeline-of-events/. [Accessed: Dec 2nd 2023]
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