- veilnounChapter 1 →
A piece of cloth worn over the head and sometimes face, required by the Islamic Republic's new laws for women and girls in public and at school.
“We didn't really like to wear the veil, especially since we didn't understand why we had to.”
- prophetnounChapter 1 →
A person believed to be chosen by God to deliver divine messages and guidance to humanity; here used by young Marji to describe her childhood belief about herself.
“At the age of six I was already sure I was the last prophet.”
- demonstrateverbChapter 2 →
To march or gather publicly with others to protest against or in support of a political cause.
“We were not allowed to demonstrate but we did it anyway.”
- communistnounChapter 3 →
A person who believes in a political system where property and wealth are shared equally by all people, with no private ownership; associated here with leftist opposition to the Shah.
“He was a prince. He was also a communist.”
- woman of actionphraseChapter 3 →
Someone who acts boldly and decisively rather than just thinking or talking; Marji uses it to describe her self-image as a determined, brave person.
“I was already thinking of myself as a woman of action.”
- revolutionarynounChapter 4 →
A person who supports or takes part in a revolution — a sudden, often violent overthrow of a government or social order.
“We were all revolutionaries.”
- avant-gardeadjectiveChapter 6 →
Ahead of mainstream society in ideas, culture, or lifestyle; here describing Marji's parents as unusually open-minded and modern for their time and place.
“My parents were very modern and avant-garde... but they were also very much in love with their own culture.”
- forbidverbChapter 6 →
To officially ban or prohibit something, making it illegal or against the rules; the Islamic Republic forbade parties, alcohol, and other activities.
“To keep us from doing something, they had to forbid it.”
- paradisenounChapter 7 →
In Islamic belief, the heavenly afterlife promised to the faithful; here the regime used it to persuade poor young soldiers to sacrifice their lives in war.
“They told us that in paradise there will be plenty of food, women, and houses made of gold and diamonds.”
- minefieldsnounChapter 7 →
Areas of ground where explosive mines have been buried just under the surface, designed to blow up when stepped on; used in the Iran-Iraq War to deadly effect.
“Thousands of young kids, promised a better life, exploded on the minefields with their keys around their necks.”
- heroismnounChapter 7 →
Great courage and self-sacrifice, especially in the face of danger; Marji questions whether dying for one's country is truly heroic or simply foolish.
“To die for one's country... was it heroism or stupidity?”
- MarxistadjectiveChapter 8 →
Relating to the political and economic theories of Karl Marx, which argue that society should be organized so workers share power and wealth equally, opposing capitalism.
“In the end the communists were arrested, and then it was the turn of the Marxist Muslims, and then the Mojahedin.”
- MojahedinnounChapter 8 →
An Iranian political-military group that combined Islamic ideology with leftist politics; they opposed both the Shah and later the Islamic Republic, and were violently suppressed.
“In the end the communists were arrested, and then it was the turn of the Marxist Muslims, and then the Mojahedin.”
- rebelnounChapter 8 →
A person who resists or defies authority and its rules; Marji uses the word to describe her identity as someone who pushes back against the Islamic Republic's restrictions.
“With my Che Guevara poster and my denim jacket, I was a rebel.”
- assertverbChapter 10 →
To firmly declare or prove something about oneself through action; here Marji smokes to make a statement that she is now grown up and in control of her own choices.
“I smoked my first cigarette. It was to assert that, from now on, I'd be an adult.”
- regimenounChapter 13 →
A government, especially one that is authoritarian and controls people's lives strictly; used throughout to refer to the Islamic Republic's ruling system.
“The F-14s were a symbol of the previous regime, but now they had become a symbol of the Islamic Republic.”
- liningnounChapter 14 →
The inner layer of fabric sewn inside a coat or garment; Marji's mother hides jewels inside it so they can be smuggled out of Iran without being detected.
“My mother had sewn my grandmother's jewels into the lining of my coat.”
- black marketphraseChapter 8 →
The illegal buying and selling of goods that are banned or strictly controlled by the government; in Iran, Western music and clothing were sold this way.
- air strikesnounChapter 13 →
Military attacks carried out by aircraft dropping bombs on targets below; during the Iran-Iraq War, Iraqi jets launched air strikes on Tehran.
- Revolutionary GuardsnounChapter 11 →
The armed force created by the Islamic Republic to protect the new government and enforce its laws; they arrested and imprisoned political opponents like Uncle Anoosh.
- illiterateadjectiveChapter 5 →
Unable to read or write; the maid Mehri could not write her own love letters because she had never been taught to read or write.
- bombardmentnounChapter 13 →
A sustained, heavy attack using bombs or artillery; the Iraqi jets' repeated bombing of Tehran during the war created constant fear among civilians.
- betrayverbChapter 12 →
To be disloyal to someone or something you owe loyalty to, such as your country or your principles; the text argues that leaving Iran is not betrayal, but staying silent is.
“To leave is not to betray. To stay silent is.”
- dowrynounChapter 19 →
Money, property, or goods that a bride's family traditionally provides to the groom or his family at the time of marriage; used here as the chapter title referring to what is given up or carried away.
PersepolisNon-fiction by Marjane Satrapi