I agree overrall with cbrownv that Marji’s grown a lot. Her experiences in Austria definitely helped that happen. She tried to fit in in a country that was mostly foreign to her and adopted a new family of sorts in her efforts to figure out who she is. She fell in love and had her heartbroken and then lived on the streets for a few months. She matured because of those experiences and returned home to Iran to finish what she started in Austria. I think her going home was a clear indicator that she realized that she had to make sense of who she used to be before she could figure out who she’s becoming so that she could recognize the difference between the two. She seemed so unwilling to believe that she had changed, that she wasn’t the prophet-aspiring Marji who had all these beliefs. I think she really wanted to believe she was still the same girl and she was taking a detour for the moment and could easily go back to who she was. It wasn’t until she went back home that she understood that it wasn’t going to be that easy.

I think we see Marji grow even more in this particular chapter because she is now looking at her origins through more realistic lenses.

She’s looking at the world through an adult lense at this stage in her life, not “realistic”. I only say adult instead of realistic because I think Marji saw the world in a way that was realistic to her at that age. Her innocence lead her to view the events happening around her in that sheltered way that children do. In this chapter, her perspective about the events of her childhood and the state of her country then and now have definitely shifted.

When she finally arrives home she is more reserved and quieter in her approach towards her parents as well as speaking about current topics in Iran.

I thought a lot of her subdued behavior could have been due to her feeling ashamed that she wasn’t as involved in her culture as she used to be. On page 193, she talks about how she was distancing herself from her culture because she was trying so hard to fit in her with new friends. In the lower panel, she mentions that speaking to her parents reminded her of her cowardice and betrayal. That part of the book was the first indication I picked up on about the identity crisis she eventually developed. It was easier for her to be outspoken about what was happening around her in Iran because she knew what she was talking about. She was much more informed before she went to Austria, but after she stopped following TV reports about the situation and had less discussions about it with her parents, the less she had to say about it. When she returned home, I felt that the change in behavior was fitting.