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Summary: Moscow
Marji’s uncle (her father’s brother) Anoosh, recently released from prison, comes to visit. Excited to have a genuine hero in the family, Marji begs him to tell her about his imprisonment. Sitting by Marji’s bed, Anoosh tells his story.
Anoosh says that when he was eighteen years old, his uncle Fereydoon was part of a group that declared the province of Azerbaijan to be independent from Iran and that Fereydoon declared himself to be its Minister of Justice. Against the wishes of his father, who remained loyal to the Shah, Anoosh joined Fereydoon in Azerbaijan. Their goal was to make all of Iran independent, one province at a time.
Anoosh explains that a bad dream warned him that Fereydoon was in danger. When Anoosh arrived at Fereydoon’s, he learned that the Shah’s soldiers had captured him. Anoosh escaped and was briefly reunited with his family in Iran before eventually fleeing to the Soviet Union. There, he learned more about Marxism and Leninism and married a Russian woman with whom he had two children. Anoosh shows Marji a photo of the family. Marji notes scribbles over the wife’s face. Anoosh tells Marji that he and his wife divorced, adding that Russians “don’t know how to love.” Anoosh then explains that when he returned home to Iran, he was captured and put in prison for nine years. As he concludes his story, Anoosh gives Marji a swan he made out of bread in prison. Pleased, Marji dreams of how she will tell her friends about all the heroes in her family.
Summary: The Sheep
While Anoosh stays with the Satrapis, Marji becomes exposed to more political ideas. Marji’s father argues that the republic is going back to an Islamic regime, but Anoosh doesn’t feel concerned, saying that it’s easier to unite the public around religion rather than political ideology and that eventually, the proletariat will rule. Marji’s friend Kaveh—who she likes a great deal—and his family move to the United States, and many of Marji’s relatives leave Iran as well. Marji’s mother suggests that they should go to the United States too, but Marji’s father feels reluctant, saying they’d be reduced to working menial jobs there. Later, at home, Marji’s father receives a call that Mohsen was murdered, drowned in a bathtub. Shortly after, they learn that Siamak’s home was raided, and while Siamak narrowly escaped, his sister was killed. Siamak and his family, including Marji’s friend Laly, escape Iran—hiding among a flock of sheep as they cross the border.
Finally, Marji learns that Anoosh has been imprisoned once again. Anoosh is allowed one visitor and he requests that it be Marji. While Marji visits him in jail, Anoosh embraces her, saying she is the daughter he always wanted. He reassures her that one day the proletariat will rule and sends her away with one last bread swan. Shortly after, Anoosh is executed. Marji, distraught in bed, receives a visit from God. Furious, she sends him away, convinced there is no more comfort in life.
Analysis
Uncle Anoush’s sudden appearance in Marji’s life is another turning point for her. At first, the story of his activism, exile, and imprisonment resolves Marji’s shame and confusion. Here is a person in her family she can claim as a hero and whose cause she can take up as her own. Anoush gives Marji a feeling of orientation and belonging in the dizzying events of the time. His idealism and sense of justice are a perfect match for Marji’s, and this explains their immediate connection and closeness. But while meeting Uncle Anoush is inspiring and helps to shore up Marji’s optimism and idealism, his experience also has a painful lesson in store for Marji. Anoush never gives up his fight, but his idealism clouds his judgment. In a particularly insightful moment, Anoush explains that the leftist revolt that ignited the Revolution cannot be sustained when half the population of Iran is illiterate. He states that the only thing that can unite them is nationalism and religion. This prescient observation contains scary possibilities for the future, yet Anoush immediately dismisses any concerns and expresses his belief that leftist ideals will win the day. It is a stunning moment of cognitive dissonance. Anoush has suffered so much over so many years in an effort to oust the Shah that he cannot accept that the new regime left in the Shah’s place could be even worse. The coming theocracy stares him in the face as he witnesses the religious fanatics’ coup unfold before his very eyes. Still, Anoush continues to say aloud that “Everything will be alright.” However, as things progress, Uncle Anoush’s deteriorating facial expression each time he says this reveals deep down that he knows better.
As the political situation in Iran deteriorates, it becomes clear that many of the people who fought to remove the Shah will continue to be persecuted under the new regime. Marji learns once again that during times of political upheaval, there are winners and losers. Marji will be one of those losers, as the rapid rise of the Iranian theocracy causes her life to crumble around her. Though many prominent leftist activists played a major part in ousting the Shah, the new regime is made up of conservative Islamist fanatics who are mortal enemies of the left. The former “heroes” Siamak and Moshen, who only months before were celebrated as heroes and victors, are killed or driven out of the country by the very government they helped bring into power. Marji’s close friend and much of her family make the decision to leave Iran rather than suffer under the rule of religious zealots. This decision appears to be vindicated as the new regime deploys its most potent and devastating tactic: violence. The violence perpetrated by the regime is brutal, and they do not attempt to hide cases such as Moshen’s murder and the assassination of Siamek’s wife. This suggests that the regime has total power and fears no retribution for its violent acts. Therefore, violence becomes the primary tool of the regime to keep its citizens frightened and compliant.
Uncle Anoush’s imprisonment is a devastating blow to Marji, and his execution is the final nail in the coffin for Marji’s innocence. Marji’s optimism, faith, and idealism all die along with Uncle Anoush and Marji feels utterly alone in an increasingly insular Iran. Everything and everyone Marji knows has been changed irrevocably by the new regime, and her life will never be the same again. Symbolizing her astronomical loss, Marji violently casts God out of her life when he attempts to comfort the grieving child in her bed. By casting God out of her bedroom and her mind for good, Marji in turn drops all remaining pretense of deference to the regime or her naïve religious beliefs. Demonstrating that this is merely the start of Marji’s tragic existence, Satrapi chooses to introduce the next phase of Marji’s life by using a full-page panel depicting Marji floating aimlessly in the blackness of space. At the same time, her parents announce from off-panel that Iraq is bombing their home. Marji’s innocence has truly been taken away.
