Persepolis Symbolism Essay

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Persepolis Symbolism Essay

In the graphic memoir, Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi introduces many different symbols to reveal different themes, such as confinement and identity loss. One specific symbol would be the veil. This was revealed in chapter one when the new regime in Iran made wearing the veil mandatory, “then came 1980: the year it became obligatory to wear the veil at school” (3). In general, a veil is used for covering, such as in weddings veils for used to cover the bride before she meets her husband. In this case it used to cover the women's faces. It is interesting how the veil is black and black is usually associated with “the hidden, secretive, and the unknown” (http://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com) Having that said, when Marji was veiled she noted, “we found ourselves veiled and separated from our friends” (4). Having the veil on makes them separated from the rest of the other girls and now the people have no idea who the people in the veil are. Also, the veil is like a trap for them as Marji illustrated when she went to school, “we really didn’t really like to wear the veil, especially since we didn’t understand why we had to” (3). The girls are not being allowed to express themselves because a piece of cloth is covering them. Therefore, Satrapi uses the veil to symbolize the loss of identity and freedom. …show more content…
To begin with, the new Iran regime made it mandatory for women to wear the veil, so that just proves that women do not really have a choice to wear the veil or not. To add on, the veil is holding the women back from expressing themselves because they are being covered so their facial expressions do not really show. In conclusion Satrapi uses the veil to symbolize loss of identity and freedom to convey the theme

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