The veil is obviously an important symbol in Persepolis and some others have commented on it. But I think the reason it’s so important is that as an item, the veil symbolizes the discrepancies and malleability of people’s notions of identity and the different forms it can take. The veil is at once a symbol of personal identity and one of national or cultural identity. It is viewed by some people as something to hide behind and by others as something to wear upon one’s self almost as a badge of honor. By others still the veil is seen as a means of debasing women, while others will say it is empowering to them. Such opinions stem very much from the cultural identities that inform their individual and personalized counterparts. I think this is underscored nicely in Persepolis because the book itself takes the form of a memoir – an innately personal expression of character, identity, and experience. Throughout the novel we see Marji confront her own developing sense of identity through a course by which there are several twists and turns, highs and lows, and periods of confusion or uncertainty. The veil doubles back around again symbolically, then, when we think of the kind of duality it imparts between its wearers and observers. The veil separates the individual within from the world without. We see Marji immersed in different cultures throughout Persepolis – in her native Iran and in Europe. In each position, life seems very different, and the other culture more poignantly characterized.

Also, with regard to the feelings some have expressed about the ending of Persepolis being lacking, or the storyline being ambiguous or almost non-existent: I think it is important to remember that a memoir is not a deliberately crafted story. It’s essentially a series of events that meaning is assigned to after the fact, rather than being contrived even from its origins as a story to be crafted to communicate a point or ideal. A more theatrically-crafted work would likely have an edge in gripping the reader, but such a theatrical or dramatic framing might in fact be disingenuous to the author’s own sentiment or recollection of experience. Because in a memoir the events that take place and the twists that turn the story are essentially predefined at the outset, the framing of these elements seems like the most undefined aspect of creating such a work. But in the end, as a memoir, the author should be inclined if not obligated to portray the relevant events in a true-to-life fashion.