Born in 1969, Marjane Satrapi is about ten years old when the Islamic republic replaces the Pahlavi dynasty in Iran. In her 2003 graphic novel, Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi recounts the fall and exile of the last Shah of Iran, and the rise of the Islamic republic. Marjane’s family protests against the Shah, and after the 1979 revolution, the family also protests against the Islamic republic. The change in power from the royal family to the republic does not bring the social justice that the Satrapis and many others seek. Through Marjane’s eyes, divisions in social class, absolute power, and violence remain the same before and after the revolution.

Divisions in Social Class

As a little girl, Marjane observes stark differences between the social classes. Marjane shares of her family’s maid, Mehri: “like most peasants, she didn’t know how to read and write…” (p. 35). In 1978, when Mehri falls in love with the Satrapis’ neighbor, the adults involved quickly end the connection. Marjane’s father explains to Marjane, “You must understand that their love was impossible. Because in this country you must stay within your own social class” (p. 37). Marjane and many of her family members despise the division between rich and poor. Marjane’s grandfather expresses: “It disgusts me that people are condemned to a bleak future by their social class” (p. 23). Marjane’s uncle, Anoosh, hopes that one day, “The proletariat shall rule! It’s inevitable!” (p. 62). Marjane understands, “The reason for my shame and for the revolution is the same: the difference between social classes” (p. 33). Following the overthrow of the Shah, however, the poor remain disempowered. Marjane’s family maid after the revolution, Mrs. Nasrine, worries when the Islamic republic recruits her fourteen-year-old son for service. Marjane’s cousin, Shahab, confirms of the Iranian military, “It’s awful. Every day I see buses full of kids arriving. They come from the poor areas, you can tell…first they convince them that the afterlife is even better than disneyland…they hypnotize them and just toss them into battle. Absolute carnage” (p. 101). The Islamic regime uses poor, vulnerable young men to fight. Under the Shah, and the Islamic republic, there exists a marginalized class.

Absolute Power

Marjane’s father tells her about the events surrounding Reza Shah Pahlavi’s rise to power. He tells her, “At the time, your grandpa was a young man and the father of the Shah confiscated everything he owned” (p. 23). With the support of the British government, Reza Shah Pahlavi seems to have the power to do whatever he likes. After the 1979 revolution, Marjane and her family continue to feel the pressures of an all powerful government. The new Islamic regime begins to control every aspect of life. Marjane remembers: “And then suddenly in 1980…‘all bilingual schools must be closed down. They are symbols of capitalism. Of decadence’”(p. 4). Marjane can no longer attend her French, non-religious school for boys and girls. The regime also judges what is appropriate to wear. Marjane explains, “Then came 1980: The year it became obligatory to wear the veil at school. We didn’t really like to wear the veil, especially since we didn’t understand why we had to” (p. 3). Marjane and other women and girls must adhere to the government’s social rules. Marjane experiences firsthand the: “…guardians of the revolution, the women’s branch. This group had been added in 1982, to arrest women who were improperly veiled. (Like me, for example)” (p. 132). Even as a child, if Marjane doesn’t dress according to the regime’s standards, the authorities have the power to detain her indefinitely. The Islamic regime strictly enforces the new expectations.

Violence

Under the royal family, Marjane’s parents tell her that her grandfather, “…was often sent to prison. Sometimes they put him in a cell filled with water for hours…The poor man! Prison had destroyed his health” (p. 24-25). Marjane’s grandfather endures torture while the royal family rules. Marjane and her family protest the Shah’s rule, but face violence when they do. One day which people come to know as Black Friday: “…there were so many killed in one of the neighborhoods that a rumor spread that Israeli soldiers were responsible for the slaughter. But in fact it was really our own who had attacked us. After Black Friday, there was one massacre after another. Many people were killed” (p. 39). The Satrapis risk their lives to oppose the Shah of Iran. However, with the new Islamic regime, they remain in danger. A year after the 1979 revolution, Marjane’s parents bring her with them to a demonstration against fundamentalism. Marjane remembers: “I passed out flyers…when suddenly things got nasty. For the first time in my life, I saw violence with my own eyes. That was our last demonstration” (p. 76). Under the royal family and the Islamic republic, protesters fear for their lives. The republic begins to target specific people, and executes Marjane’s uncle, Anoosh. Marjane shares: “My uncle was imprisoned by the Shah’s regime, but it was the Islamic regime that ordered his execution…we’ve gone from 3,000 prisoners under the Shah to 300,000 prisoners under [the Islamic] regime” (p. 144). Marjane sees how both the Shah and the republic torture and kill people.

Marjane Satrapi and her family experience the repressive rule of one form of government and then another. While rule changes from the Shah to the Islamic republic, many of the problems remain the same. Under the Shah, Marjane and her family members call for a more egalitarian society. With the fall of the Shah, however, the family does not see a significant expansion of opportunity for the oppressed. In fact, power remains in the tight control of the government. Under both regimes, Marjane and her family are at the mercy of the government regarding property, education, and even dress. Worst of all, the Satrapi family learns that opposition to either government may result in torture and murder.

References

Satrapi, M. (2003). Persepolis: The story of a childhood. Pantheon Books.