The Themes of Diaspora, Belongingness, and Religion in "Persepolis"

“I wish he were alive and in jail rather than dead and a hero.” (Satrapi, 86) While these words linger as the backdrop of the graphic novel, Persepolis, the underlying truth is told of the in-betweenness that exists in this memoir. In the graphic novel, Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, the author showcases Marjane is a representation of the creation of third space, it is seen through the themes and tropes of the veil, diaspora, belongingness, and religion of what is created.

The idea of third space was created by Homi K. Bhabha and described it as “... the structure of meaning and reference an ambivalent process, destroy this mirror of representation in which cultural knowledge is continuously revealed as an integrated, open, expanding code.” In context to Persepolis, Homi K. Bhabha’s theory complements the memoir as there are elements of third space in the context of religion, belonging and in-betweenness.

The use of visuals shows how “when the two are ‘mixed’ the words become welded to the image and no longer serve to describe but rather to provide sound, dialogue and connective passages.” Likewise, on page 102 shows the contrasting images of the kids being killed while the frame under shows kids dancing. The creation of these two differentiate visuals shows the reader how the novel displays hybridity of both throughout the novel of both elements.

To begin, the graphic novel covers a period of the Iranian revolution. The main subject that is discussed during the entire graphic novel is how the revolution imposed upon women of Tehran to adhere to the rules and customs of the Islamic religion. A major change that the women of Iran had to follow was the veil, or in other words, the hijab. The cover of the book itself shows Marjane wearing the veil, unhappy, foreshadowing to the viewer of what to expect. When Marjane says, “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.” (Satrapi, 6) she has conflicting feelings about the veil as her life before it was all Marjane had. It is shown earlier of Marjane’s dream of becoming a prophet and her close relationship with God. But, ironically, what is meant to enhance that relationship, diminishes it. As the memoir starts off by Marjane as a young child and the first chapter of ‘The Veil’, Marjane’s life is consistent with the veil as the first representation of postcolonial action and a form of third space. What we see here is how this event creates a third space in Marjane’s life as she had two cultures in her country which she is forced to follow by creating a form of cultural translation.

In addition, the visuals on page 5, the first frame, shows how there are conflicting feelings about the veil for the women of Iran. While some are in favour of the law of the veil, some are not, and the demonstrations that follow give a sense to the viewer of how the feminist responsibility is completely disregarded. What is given as the freedom of choice to women in regards to their bodies, lives, etc. is not applied. This frame showcases how the dividing mentality separates women into believing what is right and what is wrong. The frames on page 93, the women in the grocery store sharing gossip about other women while dressed similarly, their different thoughts are what separate them. For Marjane who is a witness, acts as a third viewpoint of the veil as she is introduced to this. While she is biased in her decision, she had grown up in a time where this article of clothing represents the dividing ideas for women and separating them.

Secondly, one of the biggest themes in Persepolis is nationalism, apparent through the citizens of Iran and especially, when Marjane had to leave at the end of the memoir due to her safety. Marjane’s uncle makes it clear of what happened when he had to left his family, “After the separation, I felt very lonely. I missed my country, my parents, my brothers. I dreamt about them often.” (Satrapi, 60) It is apparent that the level of patriotism that the citizens conveyed showed a level of deep love for their country. Since the Iranian revolution brought the ideas of another nation along, the revolutionary war also brought clashing ideologies.

Considering that this follows the life of Marjane Satrapi herself, the end of the graphic concludes that she fled to Austria which marks a significant moment in her life. As it represents the nationalistic point of view that she views when she leaves her family and country behind.

The visuals on page 27, last frame, depicts a strong image of the Shah promising to the citizens of a modern country. The Shah is shown as a superior and divine being, as shown while looking up at him among the stars. The symbolism of the stars displays how the Shah is seen as a higher being. He speaks among the stars and is created to look like the centre of the world. Joseph Darda argues that “Comics, we now insist, do not require less interpretation than prose but more.” whereby in this instant, the Shah is clearly defined as a dictator in the eyes of Marjane.

Furthermore, the invasion led the citizens of Iran to be confronted with their customs are being westernized and therefore incorrect. With an encounter with the police, Marjane’s father was asked, “Been drinking, have we!?!... You think I’m stupid!!!... I can tell by your tie! Piece of westernized trash!” (Satrapi, 108) This confrontation leads to an understanding of what is acceptable and what is not. Westernized or modern clothing are seen as improper and for someone to be wearing any such article of clothing is immediately made assumptions of.

Another example is seen on page 133 of Marjane dressed in a modern jacket and shoes while a group of women come in. With a literary allusion made to the late Michael Jackson and Malcolm X, which were connected to westernized culture, the women prejudged Marjane from the perspective from their ideologies. In one of the frames, we see one of the women pulling the veil on Marjane, covering her hair and calling her a whore. The idea of westernized women adopted is that “Anyway, as everyone knows: ‘Southern women are all whores.’ “ (Satrapi, 93) This reasoning behind the notion of westernized women is unknown to readers but it is what many of the colonizers believed to be true, therefore all foreigners were attributed to being inferior. This action of a post-colonialism direction is clearly defined in pushing the veil, representing the force that is put on especially towards the younger generations who have not known of this before. Marjane acts as a new citizen between two ideas.

Thirdly, the setting of the graphic novel is placed around the Iranian revolution which was the goal was to overthrow the existing monarch to create an Islamic rule. During the revolutionary riots, Marjane experienced several small impacts on her life of religious influences. The immigration officers are seen as people in-between of their faith; Marjane’s father says, “Where indeed! Their faith had nothing to do with ideology! A few bills were all he needed to forget the whole thing!!” when he is able to bribe the officer. Another example is, “All that creepy window washer had to do to become director of the hospital was to grow a beard and put on a suit! The fate of my husband depends on a window washer! Now he’s so religious that he won’t look a woman in the eyes. The Pathetic fool!”. Religion, in this novel, is a type of hybrid created in their society of what is correct and what isn’t. Who they were originally has been altered to become what is proper according to their leaders in power. In a cultural context, third space is applied to Marjane’s life, living in between two religious ideologies and incorporating them to a new generation of the original.

An early example we see of religious third space is on page 13, “It was funny to see how much Marx and God looked like each other. Though Marx’s hair was a bit curlier.” Marx represents the communist political action consisting of the belief that everyone was equal, while the universality in the belief of God is that people in His eyes are equal. For Marjane, both are ideologies that can be believed but what separates them is that they are seen as tradition versus modern days. While God is a traditional belief that is brought from the revolution, the idea of Marxism is a relatively modern ideology to believe in. The image of both is shown side by side and looking similar while after God speaks to Marjane. As the story progresses, we see the disappearance of God in Marjane’s life while the veil is more and more occurrent; while the political beliefs of Marjane are over grow her religious beliefs. This hybridity of tradition and modern is where this graphic novel takes place. This setting creates a third space where the generations that are introduced to the revolution are born into a place where there is a question of identity that is asked. The change in culture is dramatically shifted and altered to a formation of a hybrid culture that newer generation of that country is being born into.

Moreover, Marjane’s faith is shown very little to none at all, when she says “All my life, I’ve been faithful to the religion, if it’s come to this...well, I can’t believe in anything anymore…” With the revolution on its way, Marjane goes through an epiphany of her country and her people where she can no longer relate to.

In conclusion, the idea of third space plays an important and vital role in Persepolis, as themes and tropes of the veil, diaspora, belongingness, and religion are showcased throughout the graphic novel. This postcolonial memoir showcases the element of third space from the graphics to the story in order to portray the truth that occurred at the time.