Persepolis - War and Feminism

Persepolis - War and Feminism

Theme

War is a popular theme that has been widely justified in literature. Numerous works of literature denounce war and explain that ground realities of the event such as the devastation it causes and how it affects the lives of people. Feminism is another popular theme in literary works and marks the efforts and struggles of women to establish their identity and independence in a largely patriarchal society. The themes of war and feminism have been fairly justified in Satrape's Persepolis.

Thesis

War and feminism mare very strong themes that Persepolis and numerous other works of literature have used to promote and propagate a feminist movements and anti-war campaigns across the globe.

Analysis

In Persepolis, in spite of the fact that Satrape, the main character of the book, has two role models who are both females, she portrays a perception of Iranian and Western women that is generally mixed. For example, she classifies women as genuine or artificial, conformist or rebellious, indistinguishable or unique etc. Satrape practically worships her two role models both of whom present an honest and unbiased representation of the identity and independence of women. This is why Satrape has a strongly romanticized point of view regarding her mother as well as her grandmother, viewing both of them as moral compasses of her life.

The theme of feminism is strongly promoted in the novel. The feminist movement was invented mainly in order to grant women an equal position and status in society. This movement was mainly aimed at fighting patriarchal and misogynistic societies dominated by men in which women had no say and absolutely no identity of their own. The identity of women in such a traditional archetypal society was associated with that of a man in all walks of life. For example, a woman was ...