https://doi.org/10.67147/literariness.v1i4.093
Drawing Dissent: Gendered Resistance and Transnational Identity in Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis
ASWATHY S KUMAR
PhD Research Scholar
Department of English, Sanatana Dharma College, Alappuzha, Kerala
Email: aswathykumar2296@gmail.com
Abstract: Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis is a transnational narrative that maps the struggles of exile, identity, and gendered resistance. Persepolis, which was originally published in French as a comic series from 2000 to 2003, was later translated into many languages. This graphic novel challenges the reductive Western representations of Iran and offers a more nuanced, complex portrayal of its culture and people. Satrapi’s unflinching drawing of life under the Islamic Revolution is compounded by the xenophobia and marginalization she endures while in exile. The graphic narrative style of Satrapi, combining black and white illustrations and text, opened a new way to mark the trauma of exile and the complexities of transnational identity. One of the significant ways in which Satrapi challenges stereotypes is by portraying Iranian women as active agents of resistance rather than passive victims. Also, based on her experience as an Iranian woman in Europe, she dismantles the concept of the ‘civilizedwelcoming West’ and criticizes the fundamentalism and intolerance in the socalled civilized society. Drawing on postcolonial feminist theory, this paper critically examines how Persepolis transgresses dominant media representations of Iranian womanhood, challenging both Orientalist stereotypes and the self-congratulatory narratives of Western liberal tolerance.
Keywords: Persepolis, Postcolonial Feminism, Transnational Identity, Graphic Memoir, Gendered Resistance
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