Persepolis Chapter 36 Summary

The Wedding

  • Bells will be ringing…
  • Marjane and Reza decide to get married, but Marjane's dad wants to talk to him first.
  • He makes Reza agree to give Marjane the right to divorce if she ever wants it. Marjane tells us, "[Dad] had always known that I would get divorced. He wanted me to realize by myself that Reza and I were not made for each other" (36.14). That is what we in the lit biz call foreshadowing. It's also what we call pretty awesome parenting.
  • Marjane's parents throw a huge party and give Marjane and Reza a traditional Iranian marriage.
  • As soon as she's married, she feels like prison bars have trapped her in and she's no longer an independent woman.
  • Within a month, Marjane and Reza are sleeping in separate beds and fighting with each other on a daily basis. Well that was a short honeymoon…