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Marjane is a strong-willed, sometimes confused protagonist who we follow from childhood to burgeoning adulthood over the course of Persepolis. The confusion stems from her valiant attempts at trying to understand the embattled and restrictive world that she lives in—post-Revolution Iran—as well as her attempts at trying to maintain her dignity, independence, and individuality among often senseless torture, suffering, and death. The main threats to her sense of self and growth are the new regime’s restrictive measures, most notably the imposition that all women must wear the veil, which disallows in public the kind of modern outlook and expression that Marjane would prefer. As a child, she must contend with being thrust into the consequences of the adult world without being fully able or allowed—even by her mother and father, who try to protect her—to understand the shadowy mechanisms that dictate the oftentimes sorrowful fates of her friends and members of her family. She reacts to the forces around her by variously denying, lashing out against, emulating, supporting, or resigning herself to them.
Marjane Satrapi Quotes in Persepolis
The Persepolis quotes below are all either spoken by Marjane Satrapi or refer to Marjane Satrapi. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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The Veil Quotes
We found ourselves veiled and separated from our friends.
Related Characters:
Marjane Satrapi (speaker)
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Veil
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4
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After the westernized Shah of Iran is overthrown by the Islamic Republic in 1979, Iranian women and girls are suddenly forced to wear a veil in public. The Revolution also led to the abolition of bilingual schools, such as the French-Iranian school that Marjane attends as a child, due to the government's belief that they are a symbol of "decadence." Thus, Marjane is forced to switch into a single-language, single-gendered school.
In this quote, Marjane refers to the veil as a method of separation not just from the public and a woman's body, but also between different groups of people and culture. Though she enjoyed a co-educational, secular and bilingual education prior to the Revolution, after Islamic Law was put into place, her world became much smaller as she was forced into a dogmatically-religious, single-gender and monolingual education. The reference to the veil here serves to represent not only the opression of woman, but also a curtain of sorts between Iran and the rest of the modern world after the Revolution of 1979. Iran, like Marjane, was veiled and separated from its "friends" (other modernized nations) after the Revolution.
I really didn’t know what to think about the veil. Deep down I was very religious but as a family we were very modern and avant-garde.
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I wanted to be justice, love, and the wrath of God all in one.
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The Bicycle Quotes
“The Revolution is like a bicycle. When the wheels don’t turn, it falls.”
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The Water Cell Quotes
As for me, I love the King, he was chosen by God.
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Persepolis Quotes
“You know, my child, since the dawn of time, dynasties have succeeded each other but the kings always kept their promises. The Shah kept none.”
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“All the country’s money went into ridiculous celebrations of the 2500 years of dynasty and other frivolities…all of this to impress heads of state; the population couldn’t have cared less.”
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The Letter Quotes
The reason for my shame and for the revolution is the same: the difference between social classes
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“You must understand that their love was impossible…because in this country you must stay within your own social class.”
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The Heroes Quotes
My father was not a hero, my mother wanted to kill people…so I went out to play in the street.
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Moscow Quotes
“Our family memory must not be lost. Even if it’s not easy for you, even if you don’t understand it all.”
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The Trip Quotes
I wanted to be an educated, liberated woman…and so another dream went up in smoke.
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It wasn’t only the government that changed. Ordinary people changed too.
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The F-14s Quotes
“The real Islamic invasion has come from our own government.”
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War always takes you by surprise.
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“I wish he were alive and in jail rather than dead and a hero.”
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The Jewels Quotes
“To have the Iraqis attack, and to lose in an instant everything you had built over a lifetime, that’s one thing…but to be spat upon by your own kind, it is intolerable!”
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The Key Quotes
“Our country has always known war and martyrs, so, like my father said: ‘When a big wave comes, lower your head and let it pass!’”
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The Cigarette Quotes
“Now is the time for learning. You have your whole life to have fun!...In this country you have to know everything better than anyone else if you’re going to survive!!”
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“To die a martyr is to inject blood into the veins of society.”
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The Dowry Quotes
“If [people] hurt you, tell yourself that it’s because they’re stupid. That will help keep you from reacting to their cruelty. Because there is nothing worse than bitterness and vengeance…Always keep your dignity and be true to yourself.”
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Marjane Satrapi Character Timeline in Persepolis
The timeline below shows where the character Marjane Satrapi appears in Persepolis. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Veil
...and girls to wear a veil that covers most of their faces. The girls at Marjane’s school, including her friends, Golnaz, Mahshid, Narine, Minna, do not like the veil, particularly because...
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...markers of capitalism and decadence. Afterwards, “we found ourselves veiled and separated from our friends,” Marjane describes. On the streets there are demonstrations for and against the veil, of which Marjane’s...
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Marjane speaks to her conflicting feelings about the veil. Though her family is modern, she “was...
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When Marjane eventually does confide to people in school about her fantasies of prophet-hood, they make fun...
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The Bicycle
This chapter opens with Marjane confessing that her faith “was not unshakable.” She momentarily puts aside her belief that she...
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Marjane turns to the history of Iran as explained to her by her father. Her father...
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One night Marjane overhears her parents speaking about the burning of the Rex Cinema, a famous and popular...
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Standing before a mirror in her room, Marjane puts on a Che Guevara costume and then a Fidel Castro costume, but God, who...
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The Water Cell
Before the overthrow of the Shah, Marjane’s parents demonstrate in the streets every day and are exhausted, too exhausted to play Monopoly...
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Her father explains to Marjane that fifty years earlier the Father of the Shah, Reza Shah, organized a coup to...
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At this point Marjane’s father reveals that the emperor that the Father of the Shah overthrew was in fact...
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Very affected emotionally, Marjane no longer wants to play Monopoly; instead she wants to take a bath. “That night...
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Persepolis
Marjane’s grandmother comes over to the house, and Marjane asks her about the times Marjane’s grandfather...
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Each day, Marjane’s father goes to take photographs of the continuing demonstrations during the revolution, despite this activity...
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The Letter
Marjane likes to read books by the Kurdish writer Ali Ashraf Darvishian, “a kind of local...
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Pondering further her place in Iranian society, Marjane remembers her maid Mehri. Mehri became the Satrapi’s maid after Mehri’s parents gave Mehri to...
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Understanding the differences in social classes as the source of the revolution, Marjane decides the next day to go out with Mehri and demonstrate in the streets—without her...
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The Party
...asylum to the Shah, Anwar Al-Sadat, the President of Egypt, allows him to reside there. Marjane’s father claims that “as long as there is oil in the middle east we will...
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...the eyes of many adults, the children still talk about it incessantly. A friend of Marjane’s explains that Ramin’s father – the father of a boy named Ramin whom they knew...
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Marjane tells Ramin that she forgives him, though Ramin claims that his father “is not a...
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The Heroes
...3000 political prisoners of the revolution are liberated, among them Siamak Jari, the husband of Marjane’s best friend, and a long time political prisoner and friend of the family named Mohsen...
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When Laly’s father, Siamak, and Mohsen return from prison, Marjane concedes, “after the revolution I realized that you could be mistaken.” A tearful and happy...
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Marjane starts playing a game with her friends where they make up various forms of torturer....
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Moscow
Marjane remains upset that her father “was not a hero,” and she makes up stories of...
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...for nine years because of his previous illegal activities. Anoosh takes a moment to warn Marjane: “Our family memory must not be lost. Even if it’s not easy for you, even...
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The Sheep
During Anoosh’s stay with Marjane’s family, political discussions occur frequently. Anoosh and Marjane’s father wonder about the contradiction of the...
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Later, one of Marjane’s friends tells her that his family will soon move to the United States because his...
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Marjane’s father receives a phone call, after which he sobs in front of his family. It...
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Soon after, though Marjane’s parents try to protect Marjane from the fact that Anoosh has been arrested. Nevertheless, Marjane...
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The Trip
Marjane’s father is very alarmed by what he reads in the morning newspaper. Fundamentalist students have...
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...enable that, according to the fundamentalists, leads students “astray from the true path of Islam.” Marjane realizes that she will not be able to study chemistry or be like her hero...
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One night, after Marjane’s mother’s car breaks down in the street, she gets assaulted by two bearded fundamentalist men....
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Marjane explains how, quickly, one’s clothing becomes an “ideological sign.” Whereas fundamentalist women wear full covering...
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Marjane’s mother allows her daughter to attend a demonstration against fundamentalism, reversing her previous stance because...
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On their return, Marjane’s grandmother explains to them that Iraq and Iran are now at war because Iranian fundamentalists...
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The F-14s
...Iranian capital of Tehran. Upon hearing the news on the radio while at his office, Marjane’s father yells, “No! The bastards!” Following her father’s lead, Marjane screams even louder, “Those assholes!”...
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Marjane proclaims that Iran must bomb the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, though her father remarks that...
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...of the military mission, as half of the pilots did not return alive to Iran. Marjane worries the father of her friend, Paradisse, died, since he was one of the pilots...
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The Jewels
Not much food is left in the supermarkets, and when Marjane and her mother look for food there they see women fighting with each other over...
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...gas attendant tells them that Iraq bombed a refinery in Abadan, leading to the shortage. Marjane’s mother thinks of Mali, her childhood friend, who lives in Abadan. Back at home the...
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...moans over the loss of his house, which cost a lot of money to build. Marjane’s father does not like Mali’s husband because he is materialistic. In the morning, one week...
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The Key
In the morning newspapers, Marjane sees the pictures and names of “today’s martyrs.” Marjane is a bit surprised at her...
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Marjane and her classmates begin making fun of the beating ritual, exaggerating their suffering and pain...
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When Mrs. Nasrine’s son comes over after school, Marjane’s mother tries to convince him that the stories about paradise that the teachers tell him...
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Marjane’s cousin Shahab shows up in the house—he is on leave from the army—and he tells...
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The Wine
...Iraqi bombings. Everyone turns their basements into shelters. While the sirens ring in the city, Marjane’s family hides in the shelter built in the basement of their building. After the bombings...
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...way to psychologically bear the traumas and stresses of the war. At one party that Marjane attends, thrown to celebrate the birth of Marjane’s baby cousin, the lights go out just...
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...from the party, a young policeman, a boy who looks about sixteen years old, stops Marjane’s father as the family drives home. Because Marjane’s father wears a tie, the policeman assumes...
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The Cigarette
One day, two years after the war began, Marjane follows some of her older friends to a store called Kansas, where the shopkeepers sell...
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...for peace. Public warmongering increases. People write slogans that support the war on the streets. Marjane notices one slogan that particularly intrigues her: “To die a martyr is to inject blood...
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Marjane explains that it eventually became clear to the people “that the survival of the regime...
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The Passport
Marjane’s Uncle Taher visits Marjane’s family and tell them of his son, who he has sent...
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...appointed to his current job. Instead of helping Taher, a doctor shows Taher’s wife and Marjane’s family the swamped hospital premises, in order to explain why supplies are so short. In...
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Marjane and her father go to meet a man named Khosro, who spent time in prison...
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Kim Wilde
The government finally reopens the country’s borders, and Marjane’s parents quickly receive their passports. They take a vacation, just the two of them, to...
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Though Marjane is only thirteen, Marjane’s parents let her go out alone, unlike most Iranian parents. One...
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Though the two members insist on taking Marjane into their car, she comes up with a fake sob story about her difficult family...
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The Shabbat
...minutes before the missiles make landing, which does not give people much time to hide. Marjane’s father says it is useless to try to hide in the shelter in the basement....
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Many people leave the city because of the ballistic missiles, but Marjane’s family stays, because her parents believe that her education at her school remains her only...
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Marjane runs home as quickly as she can, but when she gets to her street it...
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The Dowry
It is now 1984 and Marjane is fourteen. She remains as rebellious as ever. She talks back to her teachers at...
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Marjane’s parents explain the regime’s horrible treatment of arrested women. They explain that when a girl...
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Luckily, the principal chooses not to write up a report about Marjane’s bed behavior in school. However, despite this reprieve, Marjane’s parents tell her that they think...
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The next day, Marjane begins her preparations to go to Austria. She fills a jar with Iranian dirt, gives...
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The next day, at the airport, Marjane’s parents reiterate to Marjane that she should not forget who she is or where she...
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