Persepolis | Chapter Summaries
Timeline of Events
- January 1978The Iranian Revolution begins.The Veil
- January–April 1979Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, the leader of Iran, is replaced by the Islamic Republic.The Party
- Mid-1979Marjane’s Uncle Anoosh is arrested and executed on false charges of spying.The Sheep
- Early 1980Marjane and her classmates are now required to wear hijabs, or veils, to school.The Veil
- September 22, 1980Iraq invades Iran, marking the official start of the Iran-Iraq War.The Trip
- November 1984Wanting to keep her safe, Marjane’s parents send her to live in Austria.The Dowry
- 10 days laterThe family friend with whom Marjane is supposed to live sends her to a boarding house.The Soup
- February 1985Marjane is kicked out of the boarding house for insulting Mother Superior. She moves in with Julie.Pasta
- May 1986Marjane moves into a short-term communal apartment. She lives with eight gay men.The Horse
- June 1986Marjane’s mother visits her in Austria.The Horse
- A few weeks laterMarjane rents a room in Dr. Heller’s house.Hide and Seek
- Late 1986Marjane begins dating Markus, whom she calls her “first love.”Hide and Seek
- August 1988The Iran-Iraq War ends.The Return
- November 22, 1988After breaking up with Markus, Marjane insults Dr. Heller and ends up living on the streets.The Veil (2)
- February 1989Marjane moves back to Iran.The Return
- March 1989Depressed, Marjane tries twice to commit suicide.Skiing
- April 1989Marjane begins dating Reza.The Exam
- A few months laterMarjane and Reza are accepted into university.The Exam
- 1991Marjane and Reza marry. She immediately regrets it.The Wedding
- September 1994Marjane moves to France after divorcing Reza.The End
Chapter Summaries Chart
| Chapter | Summary |
|---|---|
| Introduction | Author Marjane Satrapi (who is also the narrator of Persepolis) gives a brief history of Iran, which was founded in the …Read More |
| The Veil | Marjane Satrapi (referred to by her family as Marji) is 10 years old in 1980. She lives in Iran with her parents, Ebi (f…Read More |
| The Bicycle | In 1979, “the year of the revolution,” Marjane decides she’d rather be a revolutionary like Che Guevara or Fidel Castro …Read More |
| The Water Cell | Marjane’s parents demonstrate against the shah every day. Jealous they’re spending more time doing that than playing gam…Read More |
| Persepolis | Marjane’s grandmother comes to visit. She tells Marjane how terrible the shah was to their family and how difficult it w…Read More |
| The Letter | Marjane reads a lot of books by Ali Ashraf Darvishian (born 1941), “a kind of local Charles Dickens.” Most of his storie…Read More |
| The Party | Massacres continue regularly after Black Friday. The shah tries to make Iran into a democracy, but Iranian citizens cont…Read More |
| The Heroes | A few days after the shah’s resignation, three thousand political prisoners are released. The Satrapi family knows two o…Read More |
| Moscow | Marjane’s disappointment that her father isn’t a hero is tempered by her heroic uncle, Anoosh, who was in prison for alm…Read More |
| The Sheep | Marjane’s father and Anoosh discuss politics. Ebi is worried “the Republic wants to be called Islamic” even though the r…Read More |
| The Trip | Once Iran becomes the Islamic Republic, life changes for the country’s inhabitants. Fundamentalists take over the Americ…Read More |
| The F-14s | Marjane is visiting her father’s office when a battalion of fighter jets flies overhead. Ebi, an engineer, thinks they a…Read More |
| The Jewels | Marjane and her mother go grocery shopping. The supermarket shelves are nearly empty. Marjane’s mother says people shoul…Read More |
| The Key | The Iraqi army makes headway in its bid to conquer Iran. The Iraqis have quality weapons and troops; Iran’s only asset i…Read More |
| The Wine | Tehran soon becomes the target of Iraq’s bombs. The Satrapis and their neighbors create a bomb shelter in the basement o…Read More |
| The Cigarette | The Iran-Iraq War has been going on for two years. Marjane is 12, and she’s hanging out with older girls at school. Two …Read More |
| The Passport | It’s July 1982. Marjane and her parents are visiting her Uncle Taher and his family. Taher sent his oldest son to Hollan…Read More |
| Kim Wilde | Iran’s borders open in 1983. Marjane’s parents rush to get their passports so they can go on a trip to Turkey, just the …Read More |
| The Shabbat | Rumors fly about the Iraqis obtaining ballistic missiles, and for once the talk of the town turns out to be true. It’s u…Read More |
| The Dowry | Marjane becomes even more rebellious after the Baba-Levys’ deaths. She is expelled from her French-language school for p…Read More |
| The Soup | Marjane arrives in Vienna, where she thinks she will be treated like a daughter by her mother’s best friend, Zozo. Howev…Read More |
| Tyrol | Marjane begins classes at the French-language school in Vienna. She arrives in the middle of the trimester, and the othe…Read More |
| Pasta | Not long after Christmas, Marjane is startled to learn there are even more school vacation days coming up. Schools in Ir…Read More |
| The Pill | Marjane likes living at Julie’s house. Julie’s mother, Armelle, thinks Marjane is a good influence on Julie, who has a p…Read More |
| The Vegetable | Between the ages of 15 and 16 Marjane’s body goes from that of a child to that of a woman. Her personal style changes, t…Read More |
| The Horse | Armelle and Julie leave Vienna, so Marjane finds a temporary room in a Wohngemeinschaft, or communal apartment. She like…Read More |
| Hide and Seek | Marjane is happy living in Dr. Heller’s villa, except for the presence of Victor, Dr. Heller’s dog, who frequently defec…Read More |
| The Croissant | Marjane prepares to take the French baccalaureate—a test that determines whether she will be able to continue her studie…Read More |
| The Veil (2) | Marjane is crushed by her breakup with Markus. In her eyes, she has lost “her emotional support, the only person who car…Read More |
| The Return | Marjane arrives in Iran and immediately feels the “repressive air of [her] country.” She is chastised for not wearing he…Read More |
| The Joke | Marjane is worried everyone knows about her “failure” in Europe, but she can’t avoid her friends, neighbors, and family …Read More |
| Skiing | Marjane is depressed. She decides to give her family a brief overview of what happened in Vienna, but they are only capa…Read More |
| The Exam | In April 1989 Marjane goes to a party hosted by her friend Roxana. There she meets Reza, a former soldier. In her he see…Read More |
| The Makeup | Marjane and Reza’s relationship becomes official once they are both accepted into university. Most of their time togethe…Read More |
| The Convocation | Marjane begins university in September 1989. She and Reza are both in the college of art, but they have to pretend they …Read More |
| The Socks | Art school—particularly figure drawing—isn’t easy under the Islamic regime. Female models are required to wear the veil …Read More |
| The Wedding | Reza proposes to Marjane in 1991, and Marjane isn’t sure how to react. For 21 years her parents have taught her to be st…Read More |
| The Satellite | Iraq invades Kuwait in 1991. Most people in Iran don’t care much—they are no longer the targets of Saddam Hussein’s bomb…Read More |
| The End | It is June 1993, and Marjane and Reza are nearing the completion of their art studies. Their situation changes signifi |
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