Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Growing Up and Growing Old
Identity, Culture, and Self-Expression
Gender and Oppression
Suffering and Trauma
Summary
Analysis
The same year that Marjane and Reza get married, Iraq attacks Kuwait. Iranians aren’t surprised or concerned; they think it serves Kuwait right for supporting Iraq in the Iran-Iraq War. As expected, though, many Kuwaitis immigrate to Iran. Identifying them is easy, as many drive fancy, modern cars. One day, while Marjane is walking on the sidewalk and drinking a soda, a Kuwaiti man offers her money for sex. She throws her soda at him. Later, one of Marjane’s uncles explains to her that Kuwaiti women are oppressed to the point that Kuwaiti men can’t conceive that a woman walking with a soda is anything but a prostitute. One afternoon, Marjane and Dad watch the news. Europeans are panicking about the conflict and worry the Iraqis will come for them. Marjane and Dad laugh.
Learning about how Kuwait oppresses its women likely makes Marjane feel as though she has it pretty good in Iran—after all, she can walk down the street without incident most of the time. Seeing the Europeans panic over Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait (in what becomes known as the Gulf War) shows Marjane and Dad that the Europeans have no idea of what’s actually going on in the region. They erroneously believe that all Middle Eastern countries brimming with terrorists. To Marjane and Dad, this is ridiculous and makes them feel superior.
Themes
Mom walks in as Dad and Marjane laugh. Marjane explains what they saw on the news, but Mom reminds Marjane that Iranian media isn’t trustworthy—it makes anti-Western propaganda whenever possible. In response, Marjane points out that Western media isn’t reliable either; it paints Iranians as terrorists and fundamentalists. Mom says it’s still hard to know which side to choose. She hates Saddam Hussein and sympathizes with the Kuwaitis, but she also detests the allies who only get involved for oil. Dad adds that allies fought in Afghanistan for a decade, but no one cares because Afghanistan is poor. Worst of all, other countries are intervening in the current conflict because of human rights issues, but it’s unclear what people they care about.
The allies that Marjane and her parents mention are likely the United States, which intervened in Iraq during the Gulf War. As far as Marjane’s parents are concerned, allies like the United States don’t actually care much about the people in the Middle East and instead care about oil and money. In other words, Dad seems to propose that Westerners cherry pick what suffering to care about when it comes to the Middle East.
Themes
For the reader, Marjane explains that thinking about the war in this way wasn’t common at this time. Most Iranians were just happy the conflict wasn’t happening in Iran—and were thrilled that other countries were fighting Iraq. Now that Iran isn’t in the middle of a war, people sleep peacefully. Rationing is a thing of the past, and since all the political protesters were executed, there’s no opposition. The regime has total control over the country. And many people just want to be happy, so they forget “their political conscience.” When Marjane isn’t with her parents, she’s like this, too. One day, though, one of her friends installs a satellite antenna. This allows Marjane and her friends access to Western viewpoints. Soon, most people with means, including Marjane’s parents, have a satellite. They cover them during the day to hide them from the government.
The way that Marjane describes Iranians’ views on the conflict mirrors her own thinking when she got the man arrested at the bazaar in order to divert attention off herself. She figured that anything was worth it if she didn’t get arrested and hurt—and now that Iranians aren’t suffering, they feel the same way about other countries. By drawing these parallels, Marjane encourages readers to see that this line of thinking is common. But by condemning people who think this way, Marjane also makes the case that people should interrogate this kind of thinking.
Themes
Once Marjane’s parents get a satellite, Marjane spends most of her days on their sofa watching TV. Dad takes issue with this and asks if Marjane’s marriage is making her depressed. He says that she’s not engaged or curious anymore. Marjane spits that she’s a young married woman, but Dad snaps that it doesn’t take “exceptional intellectual effort” to be married. He encourages her to focus on her degree. Enraged, Marjane storms out. Deep down, she knows her father is right. All of her friends are getting married. Some marry American Iranians, others marry wealthy old men, and the lucky ones marry rich young men. A few actually love their new husbands. After listening to several classmates discuss marriage prospects, Marjane apologizes to Dad. He promptly checks out several books from the library for Marjane.
As Marjane sees all her friends and classmates getting married for the sake of getting married, she sees that Dad is right: one doesn’t have to be intelligent or engaged to be married. When Marjane notices that she’s little different from her friends in this sense, it’s easier for her to admit that she’s wrong. And with this, Marjane refocuses on her education and figuring out who she is. It’s no longer enough for her to try to escape her unhappy marriage by watching TV—the only way through is to dedicate her time to bettering herself.
Themes
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Marjane likes the books Dad gets for her and starts spending more time with older intellectuals. Once a month, she attends meetings at a Dr. M’s home. There, people discuss that if Mossadegh had been able to finish reforming Iran in the 1950s, the country wouldn’t be in such a sorry state today. Everyone agrees that to move forward, Iran has to admit its mistakes. Marjane mostly listens during these meetings and uses her learnings to change her life. She realizes once again that it’s essential that people educate themselves.
Mossadegh was the Iranian prime minister who nationalized Iran’s oil industry in the 1950s. By looking back at Iran’s history, Marjane comes to a better understanding of where she fits into Iranian society. Now, she understands the importance of taking an interest in her country’s past and culture—looking at it critically helps her combine her Western sensibilities with her Iranian pride.
Themes
