Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return

Marjane and Reza’s collaborative final thesis project represents Marjane’s sense of alienation in her home country of Iran. The thesis (plans and designs for a theme park based on Iranian mythological heroes) allows Marjane to show exactly what she can do as an artist. Over the year that Marjane and Reza work on it, their marriage also improves, offering hope that they won’t end up divorcing. At first, then, it seems like the thesis will help Marjane settle in and express herself freely in Tehran. However, although the thesis is well-received by the dissertation committee and even a local government official in Tehran, the government worker makes it clear to Marjane that the theme park will never come to fruition as designed. It’s impossible, he notes, to portray women without a veil—let alone mythical creatures—in Iran’s fundamentalist culture. The thesis, then, ultimately comes to represent Marjane’s realization that she’ll never feel at home in Tehran. In order for her to pursue the life she wants and make kind of artwork she wants, she must divorce Reza and leave Iran altogether.