Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi: Graphic Novel Review

"Fundamentalist Islam" and "Iran" go hand in hand in the eyes of many in the Western World. In recent years, world events have led many people to stereotype those who live in Iran as strictly adhering to their Muslim faith to the point where they shut out all other worldly influences. However, in reading Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis, one might be surprised to find that Satrapi never discusses her faith outright. Although the question of faith cannot ever be ignored in a novel discussing what, in effect, was an Islamic Revolution in Iran, Satrapi does not emphasize it and, in fact, it is interesting to note how often the characters rebel against the accepted tenets of their faith and how anti-fundamentalist many of them are.

Satrapi's view of her Islamic faith permeates throughout the novel and can be witnessed from the very first scene. The novel begins with a chapter entitled "The Veil" in which Marjane, Satrapi's autobiographical self, is forced to wear a religious head covering to school. In this early depiction, it is clear that Satrapi was never strictly religious as we see Marjane and her peers disregarding and, in fact, disrespecting the religious garments. As the novel continues, we see Marjane and her friends and relatives again showing their lenient interpretation of their faith as they consume alcohol; a product not condoned in the tenets of Islam.

It often seems that a common misconception by people in the West when looking at Iran is that Iranians' number one priority a religious faith which prevents them from admitting any Western influence. However, Satrapi does an excellent job in showing otherwise, and again does so without ever blatantly discussing her faith. Satrapi reveals several instances where she and her friends enjoyed Western music and clothing even though it was severely frowned upon by stricter adherers to Islamic faith; as evidenced in the scene with the Guardians of the Revolution.

Perhaps the most notable discussion of faith in the entire novel is a brief passage where Satrapi nonchalantly discusses her friendship with Neda. Under normal circumstances, the discussion of a childhood friend would hardly be of importance. However, what is interesting about this scene is that Neda was Jewish. It is fairly common for people to hear of animosity between Jews and Muslims, but Satrapi discusses her friendship with Neda as if it were quite the norm, thus disproving another common misconception without ever having a significant discussion of religion.

Satrapi's views on Islam and religion are not openly stated within the novel. They underlie many of Marjane's experiences, but it is done in such a way as to seem a mundane topic. Marjane and those she comes into contact with are far from fundamentalist Muslims, but Satrapi never has to state that outright. Overall, the way in which she deals with the topic is so seemingly subtle as to disprove many misconceptions about Iranian Muslims without ever hosting a discussion of the topic. This method of telling her story achieves far greater meaning than if Satrapi were to address the issue of religion directly, and by the end of the novel readers have a far greater understanding of people of what, in the end, is a not so different culture.