Reading more than Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis Item Type Thesis or dissertation Authors Dad Mohammadi, Mersedeh Citation Dad Mohammadi, M. (2016). Reading more than Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis. (Doctoral dissertation). University of Chester, United Kingdom. Publisher University of Chester Download date 26/09/2021 18:09:31 Item License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10034/620329 READING MORE THAN MARJANE SATRAPI’S PERSEPOLIS THESIS SUBMITTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHESTER FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY BY MERSEDEH DAD MOHAMMADI 2016 DECLARATION I declare that the material presented for examination here is my own work and has not been submitted for an award at this or another higher education institution. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS All praise belongs to Allah, the First, without a first before Him, the Last, without a last before Him (Sahife Sajjadiyye, Imam Zain al-Abideen, supplication 1). Praise is due to His legitimate and righteous representative Imam al-Asr-e va Zaman and his companions whose extreme and unconditional love and support equipped me to complete this thesis. I would like to offer my heartiest thanks and gratitude to my dearest parents whose sincerest douas have always been with me throughout my life. I ask Allah to “forgive me through my supplication for my parents, and forgive them through their devotion toward me with unfailing forgiveness” (Sahife Sajjadiyye, Imam Zain al-Abideen, supplication 24). I cannot thank Prof Oliver Scharbrodt enough for his help and support and feedback during the final process of my research. I would like to offer my gratitude to him for his endorsement of the work and helpful comments, his understanding, support, inspiration, patience, and faith in me have helped me to grow not only as a researcher but also as a Muslim. I would also like to thank his wife, Dr Yafa Shanneik (now of South Wales University) for supporting my first steps into understanding feminism and gender studies in Islam; and to Dr Zahra Ali (the post-doctoral fellow of TRS) for helping to kindle my passion for feminist studies and for her comments on my early feminist work; Dr Ben Fulford for his kindness and help, particularly with arranging external advisors to my work; and Dr Wayne Morris for his valuable support. The study would not have been completed were it not for the assistance of the lecturers of the TRS Department and the LIS librarians, and for the physical and moral support of the Student Support and Guidance staff members especially my dear friend Miss Aliya Shah and her kind and caring family. I have had the pleasure to discuss my work informally with her and seek her advice and help all throughout my studies. To Revd Dr Lesley Cooke, who enriches my research journey with her kindness and encouragement. I would also like to thank others who have helped to develop my analytical skills through their useful comments; in particular Prof Ron Geaves and Dr Alana Vincent. Last but not least, I would like to thank my dear brothers, Danial and Dr Younas whose invaluable support has enabled me to undertake this research. I sincerely ask Allah to “give what is due to them before they ask” and to make them happy “so that they will be fortunate through me and I fortunate through them” (Sahife Sajjadiyye, Imam Zain al-Abideen, supplication 26). i TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................................... i TABLE OF CONTENTS ......................................................................................................... ii NOTES.................................................................................................................................... iv ABSTRACT............................................................................................................................. v INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 1 Brief outline ......................................................................................................................... 1 Analysis of intentio auctoris and intentio lectoris ............................................................... 1 Methodology ........................................................................................................................ 9 Orientalism ........................................................................................................................... 9 Occidentalism .................................................................................................................... 16 Feminism ........................................................................................................................... 21 Political theory ................................................................................................................... 26 History ............................................................................................................................... 30 Representation of Islam and Iran in media ........................................................................ 34 Autobiography: fact or fiction? .......................................................................................... 37 Summary of chapters ......................................................................................................... 40 CHAPTER ONE .................................................................................................................... 44 ANALYSIS OF SATRAPI’S CONCERN OVER DEMOCRACY IN IRAN ...................... 44 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 44 History of religious leadership and political authority pre Islamic Revolution ................. 47 Velayat-e faqih: religious history ....................................................................................... 55 Velayat-e faqih and its critics ............................................................................................. 61 Democracy and Islam: a disarticulation? ........................................................................... 66 The politics of secularism .................................................................................................. 75 Human rights and velayat-e faqih as moral politics ........................................................... 79 Iran and the West in media and politics ............................................................................. 82 Iran and Islam in media and memoir ................................................................................. 89 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 95 CHAPTER TWO ................................................................................................................... 97 REPRESENTATIONS OF THE HEJAB IN AND BEYOND PERSEPOLIS ....................... 97 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 97 An introduction to other memoirs ...................................................................................... 99 Not without My Daughter, 1987 ...................................................................................... 100 Reading Lolita in Tehran, 2003 ....................................................................................... 102 Iran Awakening: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope, 2006............................................. 107 Contextualising the position of Satrapi ............................................................................ 110 ii The hejab in Iran .............................................................................................................. 115 Is the hejab a matter of ‘choice’? ..................................................................................... 125 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 129 CHAPTER THREE ............................................................................................................. 131 POST 2009 ELECTION EVENTS IN THE MIRROR OF PERSEPOLIS’ EPIGONES .... 131 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 131 An introduction to Persepolis 2.0 and Zahra’s Paradise ................................................ 132 The story of Zahra ............................................................................................................ 136 Representations of Iranian prisons in Persepolis and epigones ....................................... 142 Trauma fiction .................................................................................................................. 147 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 151 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................... 152 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................ 162 iii NOTES The title of this thesis is inspired by Jasmin and Stars: Reading