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soupgirlreads 's review for:
The Complete Persepolis
by Marjane Satrapi
Overall, I think this is a very important and informative read about the history of Iranian politics, the Islamic Revolution, and what it is like to live under conflict and authoritarian religious rule. However, I give this three stars because there were some very clear blind spots by the author that appeared to show aspects of classism, negative judgement towards feminism and advocacy styles that did not align with her own, and a lack of introspection about her own personal relationships and how she treats the people around her.
First of all, I do want to say that definitely appreciated how the author included anecdotes which showed her flaws, mistakes, blind spots, and ignorance instead of just making herself out to be a perfect protagonist (which easily could have been done, since this is a memoir written about herself and her life). That being said, there were definitely some moments where the younger version of the author would do/say something seemingly quite problematic, and there would be no disclaimer from her adult version about how she now knows better.
The most prominent example is the disturbing anecdote about how she wrongfully accuses a "scruffy man on the street" of catcalling her in order to distract the police and evade arrest herself for wearing makeup. Although her grandmother severely calls her out on her bad behavior, this anecdote just ends with her grandmother eventually forgiving her without her "adult" self explicitly taking accountability for this serious false accusation. I also have to point out that the emphasis on the "scruffiness" of the man was just one example of the underlying classism that I felt from the author all throughout this novel.
I also felt that the author often blamed everyone else for her unhappiness instead of relying on introspection to see where she could have done better, especially with regards to personal relationships that have gone sour over the years. This was most prominently depicted in scenes involving her relationship with her ex-husband. I definitely acknowledge that there is a distinct power dynamic between husband and wife (especially in a couple living in Tehran at that time), but I often found myself wondering whether she could have reflected on what she herself could have done better in that marriage - and this never happened. The dissolution of their marriage was pretty much just chalked up to implications that her ex-husband was a bit of a misogynistic traditional man, while she was the carefree woman who tried her best to save the relationship, but needed independence.
On a similar note, the author appeared to judge harshly those who did not share her values about activism and feminism, often relying on the age-old, cheap trope of ugly, fat = bad, stupid = bad (e.g., calling her landlord a fat horse-face, calling her cousin an imbecile). While I deeply empathize with her experiences as an Iranian woman thrown into a predominantly white community at a very young age, as well as the struggles she faced reconciling her experiences abroad with her community in Iran, it really bothered me as a reader how she appeared to constantly distill her conflicts with her community either through name-calling or sheer disdain at their "ignorance." Especially for the latter, I think this is where I really saw the author's blind spot of not acknowledging her own privilege of coming from a upper middle class family who could fund her education abroad. It made me sad to think that the author believes that anyone who doesn't fit a certain mold of feminism is "inane" or an "imbecile."
Again, I appreciate that the author depicted herself as an imperfect individual who was just trying to survive a deeply difficult childhood and young adulthood full of war, oppression, racism, and conflict. I just think the author's growth and maturity, alongside the growth and maturity of 21st century feminism, could be depicted even better with more clear and explicit introspection and accountability on behalf of the adult version of the author.
First of all, I do want to say that definitely appreciated how the author included anecdotes which showed her flaws, mistakes, blind spots, and ignorance instead of just making herself out to be a perfect protagonist (which easily could have been done, since this is a memoir written about herself and her life). That being said, there were definitely some moments where the younger version of the author would do/say something seemingly quite problematic, and there would be no disclaimer from her adult version about how she now knows better.
The most prominent example is the disturbing anecdote about how she wrongfully accuses a "scruffy man on the street" of catcalling her in order to distract the police and evade arrest herself for wearing makeup. Although her grandmother severely calls her out on her bad behavior, this anecdote just ends with her grandmother eventually forgiving her without her "adult" self explicitly taking accountability for this serious false accusation. I also have to point out that the emphasis on the "scruffiness" of the man was just one example of the underlying classism that I felt from the author all throughout this novel.
I also felt that the author often blamed everyone else for her unhappiness instead of relying on introspection to see where she could have done better, especially with regards to personal relationships that have gone sour over the years. This was most prominently depicted in scenes involving her relationship with her ex-husband. I definitely acknowledge that there is a distinct power dynamic between husband and wife (especially in a couple living in Tehran at that time), but I often found myself wondering whether she could have reflected on what she herself could have done better in that marriage - and this never happened. The dissolution of their marriage was pretty much just chalked up to implications that her ex-husband was a bit of a misogynistic traditional man, while she was the carefree woman who tried her best to save the relationship, but needed independence.
On a similar note, the author appeared to judge harshly those who did not share her values about activism and feminism, often relying on the age-old, cheap trope of ugly, fat = bad, stupid = bad (e.g., calling her landlord a fat horse-face, calling her cousin an imbecile). While I deeply empathize with her experiences as an Iranian woman thrown into a predominantly white community at a very young age, as well as the struggles she faced reconciling her experiences abroad with her community in Iran, it really bothered me as a reader how she appeared to constantly distill her conflicts with her community either through name-calling or sheer disdain at their "ignorance." Especially for the latter, I think this is where I really saw the author's blind spot of not acknowledging her own privilege of coming from a upper middle class family who could fund her education abroad. It made me sad to think that the author believes that anyone who doesn't fit a certain mold of feminism is "inane" or an "imbecile."
Again, I appreciate that the author depicted herself as an imperfect individual who was just trying to survive a deeply difficult childhood and young adulthood full of war, oppression, racism, and conflict. I just think the author's growth and maturity, alongside the growth and maturity of 21st century feminism, could be depicted even better with more clear and explicit introspection and accountability on behalf of the adult version of the author.