Hello, Radio Readers; this is Kim Perez, and I am coming to you from the history department at Fort Hays State University. The books I will be discussing, the two-book series Persepolis and Persepolis 2 by Marjane Satrapi, are the first in our Spring 2022 reader’s theme: Graphic Novels: Worth a Thousand Words.
Persepolis and Persepolis 2 tell the story of the childhood and adolescence of Marjane Satrapi, the author, and illustrator of the novels. Satrapi was born and raised in Iran until she was fourteen years old, and then she was sent away to Austria because her parents feared for her life and future in Iran. When she was about eight years old, the Iranian Revolution occurred, and it ushered in a new religiously conservative regime. Life changed for Satrapi at that point.
Before the revolution, she was a quick-witted, sharp-tongued young lady who enjoyed western fashion and punk rock. After the revolution, like other women in Iran, she was expected to wear the veil, dress conservatively, and reject all western influence. She was also expected not to challenge authority, something she had difficulty doing. Hence, she got in trouble for wearing the wrong clothes, not wearing her veil properly, and rejecting authority. Her parents feared that she would be arrested, imprisoned, and possibly even executed, so they sent her to live with friends in Austria and attend a French school.
One of the major themes of these two books is that education is the key to Satrapi’s freedom. Before the revolution, school was a sanctuary for her. She excelled at her studies and had a curious mind that was stimulated by her lessons. When she clashes with the leadership in her conservative school in Iran and her parents decide to send her to Vienna, she questions why her parents are sending her away to live essentially on her own at the tender age of fourteen.
Her mother assures her that they trust her because they raised her and know who she is as a person, but “above all”, her mother says, “I trust your education.” (p. 147). In Vienna, her intelligence wins her friends. These friends came from different parts of Europe and grew up very differently than she did, and she reads to understand their political and philosophical leanings. She reads voraciously. She learns multiple languages.
When she is forced to return to Iran, the only thing that awakens her from her depression is her acceptance at a premier art school, where she becomes absorbed in her studies and excels. And when she realizes that there is no future for her in Iran, that she cannot reconcile the limitations imposed on her life with her desire for freedom, she leaves Iran to attend an art school in France, finally gaining the freedom she longed for.
