Education and Social Class Differences

In the story of Persepolis, each female character had a designated role that they could not escape from. Marji’s role was to show the reader how the Iranian Revolution truely affected her life.

An example of this was when the government made it mandatory for all women to wear veils. Marji did not have a choice in the matter because she was young and had to abide by her parent’s requests, but more so when she had to wear the veil to school and was stopped by the guardians of the revolution. Marji’s was to support Marji and be there for her to express what she was feeling. However, her mother also had to make sure she was well off in her endevours.

Her mother was much more direct and stern with Marji as compared to her grandmother. Her grandmother’s role was also to support Marji, but she also tried to calm Marji by giving her words of wisdom, which included a slight insight to what has occurred in the past and some events that were once hidden from her. The maid in the household did not attempt to take on any of the roles of the females because her primary role to the reader was to show us the social class differences that existed within that society.

She was nothing more than a maid who must know her place. The school teacher’s role was held higher than that of the maid’s role. The school teacher was there to educate all of the students, but part of this education was to ensure that all of the female students that were attending would wear their veils at all times because if they did not, the guardians of the revolution would have them arrested.