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
It’s November of 1984. Marjane, who is 14 years old, arrived in Austria believing that she’d escape Iran’s religious fundamentalism for an “open and secular Europe”—and that her mother’s best friend, Zozo, would take her in. This, however, isn’t what happened: Zozo recently dropped Marjane off at a Catholic boarding house. As Marjane lies on her bed, she wonders what her roommate, Lucia, will look like. She figures that Lucia will look like Heidi.
The way that Marjane introduces herself betrays how young and immature she is. She arrived with big dreams that reflect a youthful, naïve outlook. Describing Europe as “open and secular” also suggests that Marjane idealizes Europe and thinks poorly of Iran. For now, she thinks the Western world is better than her home country. Lucia is a common Scandinavian name—Lucia’s Day is a holiday in Sweden that celebrates St. Lucia, a young girl who was martyred for her Christian faith in 304 C.E. Marjane thus assumes her roommate will look stereotypically Swedish, like the titular character from Johanna Spyri’s children’s novel Heidi, which is about a little orphan girl who goes to live with her grandfather in the Swiss Alps.
Themes
Marjane arrived in Vienna 11 days ago. Zozo and her daughter Shirin, who was Marjane’s childhood friend, picked Marjane up at the airport. From the beginning, Zozo seemed oddly unkind. In the car on the way home, Shirin seemed shocked when Marjane expressed relief that she wouldn’t have to beat herself for the martyrs. Shirin then changed the subject and showed Marjane her fashionable earmuffs, scented pens, and pink lipstick. To Marjane, Shirin looked like a traitor for talking about “trivial things” while people in Iran are dying.
Readers familiar with Persepolis will remember that Marjane left Iran in the middle of the Iran-Iraq War. Back home, Marjane had to honor the martyrs (young soldiers, mostly) in various ways, including by hitting herself. Given all Marjane has seen and experienced, Shirin’s quick pivot to talking about silly things like lipstick and earmuffs makes her seem less patriotic and less Iranian to Marjane.
Themes
Marjane spent 10 days with Zozo’s family. It was awful, since Zozo and her husband, Houshang, fought daily. When the family lived in Iran, Houshang was a CEO and Zozo was his secretary. But here, Zozo is a hairdresser and Houshang is “nothing.” Marjane was ashamed to overhear fights about money, but she also thought there’s a reason why she never heard her parents fight over money: her own father isn’t incompetent. Finally, after 10 days, Zozo announced that her apartment was too small and took Marjane to the boarding house. Marjane was worried about living with nuns—the nuns she knew in Tehran were “ferocious”—and she was sad to leave Houshang, whom she considered an ally.
In addition to idealizing Iran, Marjane also idealizes her father when she proudly (and perhaps naively) declares that he’s not incompetent like Houshang. On another note, being kicked out like this is likely traumatic for Marjane. She has to adjust her expectations yet again and become independent very quickly.
Themes
Once at the boarding house, the Mother Superior told Marjane the rules and showed her around the facilities. The Mother Superior was shocked to learn that Marjane wasn’t a Christian. Marjane felt independent and mature, so she went straight to the supermarket “to buy groceries like a woman.” Pleasantly surprised by the well-stocked store, Marjane stocked up on scented laundry products and had just enough money to cover her detergent and a few boxes of pasta.
Even if Zozo’s abandonment hurt, Marjane is able to look on the bright side: now, she can be independent. At this early point in Marjane’s European adventure, Vienna looks like paradise with its stocked supermarkets. As wonderful as Vienna looks, though, Marjane reveals through her tight finances in this passage that she might not be able to take advantage of everything it to offer.
Themes
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Now, Marjane lies on her bed, admires her laundry products, and waits for Lucia. When Lucia arrives, the girls greet each other and quickly discover that there’s a language barrier between them: Lucia only speaks German, and Marjane only speaks French. After a few awkward minutes, Marjane shares special Iranian pistachios and Lucia makes them both cream of mushroom soup. At the table, they try to communicate. By drawing, Lucia is able to teach Marjane the German word for “television” and invite her to watch TV with her. Marjane is thrilled she’s learning German, but in the TV room, she realizes how far she has to go. The movie is in German and Marjane understands none of it. She excuses herself.
Not understanding German drives home for Marjane that Europe might not be as great as she expected. Though the girls seem happy enough to share pistachios and soup, sharing food is only the first step to making friends and finding a sense of home. Notably, Marjane wouldn’t struggle so much with the language had she stayed at Zozo’s, where they speak Persian at home. In this sense, Zozo contributes to Marjane’s trauma in yet another way.
Themes
