The Treatment of Women Across Cultures

The way women were treated in Persepolis felt both foreign and familiar to me. Persepolis takes place in the late 1970s during the Islamic Revolution in Iran. As such, we see how both religion and culture impact our young female narrator’s life. We can note this from the very first page of the graphic novel. The first chapter, accurately titled “The Veil,” explains to us why our narrator and the other girls had to wear veils. “Then came 1980: The year it became obligatory to wear the veil at school” (Satrapi 3) “this is called a Cultural Revolution” (Satrapi 6). Growing up in a country where church and state are separate, the idea of religious customs being superimposed onto me as if they are laws, was a foreign concept I just could not grasp in its entirety. I have never encountered something remotely close to this phenomenon. But even though I could not relate to this event, certain aspects of it still felt familiar to me. The way the girls responded to the veil- “We didn't really like to wear the veil, especially since we didn’t understand why we had to,” (Satrapi 3) - reminded me of the many instances were I had to follow what felt like silly rules as a child never really understanding the reason for them either. So, while I may have grown up in a different environment to the narrator’s, her experiences as both a female and a child felt familiar. Even though I am not forced to cover myself up in order protect myself from men- “And so to protect women from all the potential rapists, they decreed that wearing the veil was obligatory” (Satrapi 74)- in my own culture some people still judge women for “provoking” men by dressing a certain way. It's sad to say, but regardless of whether you’re in Iran or the United States, women are viewed as the ones that morally corrupt society. It’s an awful idea to share across cultures, but women being depicted as temptresses can be seen going as far back as to Adam and Eve. 

In terms of literary elements that felt familiar and or foreign, the sheer fact that this novel is in a comic book style made it feel familiar to me. The use of panels, visuals, and words, is a style I am used to seeing. But, by looking at the visuals in a more critical manner, certain aspects served as reminders that this is a foreign piece and not a western novel. In specific, the lines. In Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art, McCloud argues that all lines “carry with them an expressive potential” (124) and this is certainly the case with Satrapi’s Persepolis. One detail that really caught my eye, is the use of lines to create patterns. Just flipping through the pages, we can note patterns everywhere- from the narrator’s pajamas to the depiction of nature. The elaborate use of patterns reminded me of Persian rugs and thus reminded me of the story’s setting. These patterns do carry expressive meaning in that they produce a cultural association to Persia and its history for the reader. My favorite example of this, is shown below. This image depicts several different intricate patterns and movements during a celebration, tying in an almost sense of cultural pride in this panel.