Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return: The Exam Summary & Analysis

It’s 1989. Marjane’s parents have no idea what caused Marjane’s abrupt about-face, but they’re thrilled anyway. They buy her a car to encourage her to keep trying. Marjane spends her time going to parties and attends one party at her friend Roxana’s house. She doesn’t know anyone at the party but soon makes the acquaintance of a young man named Reza. They connect over the fact that Reza’s friends attended school in Tehran with Marjane. They also discover that they’re both painters. Though Roxana tries to draw Marjane away and even warns Marjane that Reza is a “merciless seducer,” Marjane spends the entire evening with Reza.

Marjane is especially taken with Reza when he reveals that he fought in the war. He attempts to tell her the same joke Kia did before describing what it was like to be a tank gunner. All of this makes Marjane think that Reza is a hero—and two years later, she goes on to marry him. Roxana refuses to speak to Marjane after the party; she wanted to set Reza up with a different friend. As Marjane and Reza embark on their relationship, Marjane realizes they’re complete opposites. Reza is neat, quiet, and dreams of having a family. Marjane is messy, social, and prefers smoking to meditation. But Reza idealizes Marjane’s time in Vienna, while Marjane sees Reza as a way to connect with the war she never experienced. In this sense, they complement each other.

It doesn’t take long before Marjane and Reza start talking about a future together. Reza wants to move to Europe or the U.S. and invites Marjane to come with him. Marjane doesn’t refuse, but she’s not ready to leave Iran. Reza insists that Marjane is just nostalgic for Iran—soon, she’ll be ready to leave. Getting visas is hard, so instead of planning their departure Marjane and Reza study for the National Exam. This will allow them to attend college. In June 1989, they take their exams. For the drawing portion of the exam, Marjane prepares a version of Michelangelo’s Pietà (the Virgin Mary holding Jesus’s body), but puts Mary in a veil and Jesus in an army uniform. It honors the martyrs.

Several weeks later, Marjane and Reza wait anxiously for the newspaper that publishes the names of accepted students. They both get in. Ecstatic, they get in Marjane’s car and Reza puts his hand on Marjane’s. This is all they can do; they can’t kiss or hug in public since they’re not married. When Marjane gets home, she tells her parents the good news. She notes that she still has to take the ideological test, but she thinks it’ll be easy. Mom and Dad, however, set Marjane straight: she has to learn to pray in Arabic and learn Islamic philosophy. Though Marjane tries hard to study, she eventually just prays for help.

At Marjane’s exam, the examiner asks her whether she wore a veil in Vienna and if she knows how to pray. Marjane answers truthfully: she didn’t wear a veil because she thinks God would’ve made women bald if their hair was such an issue. She also prays in Persian instead of Arabic, since God is supposed to be within everyone and she wants to understand what she’s saying. Several weeks later, she gets her acceptance letter. Later, she learns that her interviewer was impressed by her honesty. In Marjane’s opinion, he’s a “true religious man.”