A Grandmother’s Wisdom: The Power of Family in Persepolis

In the graphic memoir Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi discloses her experiences as a young girl growing up beneath the oppressive regime of the Iranian revolution. Throughout the novel, she faces moral dilemmas, suffers culture shock, and struggles to adapt to consistently altering societies, forcing her to turn to her loved ones, as a lot of do in occasions of chaos. The grandmother’s influential voice and guidance plays a pivotal part in shaping Marji into the ladies she becomes. Increasing up below such dire circumstances pushes Marji to mature at a rate too speedy for most children and teenagers, but with the thoughtful aid of loved ones, she is in a position to create a life of peace for herself, contrasting the violence and destruction she witnessed on a everyday basis in Iran. In Satrapi’s, Persepolis, the grandmother embodies Marji’s cultural roots and values through her comforting help, memorable advice, and reminders relating to ancestral pride, demonstrating the substantial part household plays in shaping identity.

The grandmother represents hope in Marji’s life, emphasizing the way relatives supply a reliable assistance program, although simultaneously shaping character. As Marji is increasing up, she dreams of becoming a prophet, because her “grandmother’s knees always ached,”(six) and she did not want to see her loved ones in pain. Rather of laughing at the seemingly absurd concept, the grandmother responds,“In that case, I’ll be your very first disciple” (7), revealing the safety Marji is fortunate adequate to discover in her loved ones. Marji can be stubborn at instances, but also extremely selfless as she strives to aid those she cares for most- her loved ones especially. She complains about how her maid did not get to consume at the dinner table with her and how other people had been not privileged adequate to drive a cadillac like her father, but her motivation to finish the suffering of her grandmother proves just how significantly she cares for her relatives. The grandmother is an authority figure that Marji feels secure sharing suggestions with, as a child and throughout her teenage years however, it is also evident that Marji feels the require to repay her grandmother for all she has carried out, and becoming a prophet seems to be her way of carrying out this. The grandmother remains a steady role model throughout the memoir, although concurrently offering an abundance of warmth and safety. Before Marji leaves for Austria, her last moment with her grandmother seems to be one particular she cherishes and remembers, as she explains how, “When she undressed, you could see the flowers fall from her breasts” (150). Marji nearly idolizes her grandmother, seeing by way of her age to the radiance that lies underneath. As Marji bargains with puberty later in the novel, she struggles with femininity, so it would make sense that she would appreciate the methods her grandmother takes to really feel feminine, from picking “jasmine flowers to put in her bra” (150) to soaking “them [her breasts] in a bowl of ice water for ten minutes” (150). Loved ones plays a basic portion in guiding their children via their confusing, awkward teenage years, but simply because Marji moves away from her parents at such a young age, she is forced to soak up all the guidance she can ahead of departing. Breasts can be employed to symbolize nurturing, growth, and transformation, as they are a necessity for babies who breastfeed, but after a certain age they are no longer an crucial resource. In an unconventional way, the grandmother’s breasts amplify the way Marji desperately relies on her grandmother as a kid, but gradually becomes much less dependent on family as she progresses by means of life. Though the grandmother vastly contributed to the foundation that permitted Marji to develop and develop away from property and in the end shape her identity.

As Marji’s journey to adulthood progresses, she transforms, learns, tends to make errors, and faces consequences for them, but the thoughtful words of her grandmother consistently hold her morally accountable for the choices she makes. The grandmother provides Marji strong advice before she leaves for Austria, whispering, “Always keep your dignity and be accurate to your self (150). This notion obviously strikes a chord with Marji as it follows her throughout her Austrian experiences and pulls her back to her Persian roots when she starts to stray from them. The wisdom exerted on that evening is referenced many occasions as Marji’s story progresses, acting as a moral compass. In order to discover her spot in Austrian society, Marji begins to avoid discussing heritage in order to distance herself from stereotypes nevertheless, when she does this, she feels immense guilt. In Austria, she attends a school party in which a boy asks her where she is from and she introduces herself as French. Marji then comes to the realization that it is significantly less difficult to lie about becoming Iranian than to bear the burdens of telling the truth, although later that night she thinks to herself, “I remembered that line my grandmother told me” (195). In a new community surrounded by new men and women, Marji holds her grandmother’s words close to her heart, exposing the universally skilled impact household can have on increasing minds. The grandmother’s single piece of tips evokes feelings of guilt in Marji that thankfully hinder her from betraying her background. While disregarding her heritage seems like the simplest resolution, it was bound to have triggered inevitable feelings of self-reproach if it had not been for the guidance of the grandmother.

By the time Marji returns to Iran, she has turn out to be her personal person, although the acceptance of her household remains a principal concern, grounding her in confusing scenarios. When Marji frames an innocent man in order to distract the guardians of the revolution from her controversial lipstick, she finds the circumstance comical. Although this humorous attitude is abruptly stripped when she explains it to her grandmother who responds, “It’s the blood of your grandpa and your uncle that runs in your veins! Shame on you!” (291). This is a turning point in Marji’s life, a predicament in which she decides she never ever wants to really feel the guilt of dishonoring her family members again. She makes displaying respect to her ancestors a prime priority in order to gain her grandmother’s forgiveness, which is far more simply attainable than Marji expected. The significance of family is depicted by means of the inevitable reconciliation amongst Marji and her grandmother, alongside Marji’s sudden urge to better her character soon after the argument. When Marji becomes more independent in her choice producing, her grandmother appears significantly less and much less. The guardian angel of the novel begins to fade as Marji gets married and continues on with her life. For the duration of her final departure from Iran (341), the grandmother does not begin crying until the final panel, when absolutely everyone else is smiling. Marji had viewed her grandmother as a figure of strength and wisdom all through her childhood and this vigor falters for the very first time as the novel concludes. The tears of the grandmother reveal that Marji no longer wants the stabilizing element of her family members as much as she used to, since she is now an independent females with a future of her personal. Marji then reflects on her grandmother and the pivotal function she has played, narrating, “I only saw her again once, during the Iranian New Year in March 1995. She died January 4, 1996… freedom had a price” (341). To be free, Marji had to leave her family members, causing her to be unable to say goodbye to her grandmother, but Marji does not appear to express serious sorrow, since she now has a firm grasp on life and is accomplished finding out from her elders. This is the final separation among Marji and the family members that offered her foundation, expressing how the grandmother additional represents the Satrapi past, loved ones pride, and cultural values.

For Iranians in the course of the era Marji grew up in, poverty, death, and brutality was standard, so civilians—especially children—had no decision but to turn to family members when hopelessness began to take its toll. As a child in Iran, a teenager adapting to Austrian society, and a young ladies moving to Europe, family, especially the grandmother, reminds Marji to honor her heritage and be proud of her moral values. Society teaches the younger generations to conceal anything abnormal, generating insecurities for numerous, and top those with distinct cultures, like Marji, to distance themselves from their roots. This not only leads to undiversified communities, but it can be tormenting for those whose values define them. Marji was fortunate sufficient to have the steady foundation of a close-knit loved ones during the turmoil brought on by the Iranian revolution, although without the wisdom, assistance, and hope place forth by the grandmother, Marji would not be the resilient, self-enough girls she became.