Love has a large, but misinterpreted influence on the events of Persepolis. All of Marjane’s love-based relationships are actually rooted in her own desires. One such relationship is her relationship with God, which is based in her own personality rather than religious belief. Similarly, her relationship with her parents is structured around her inability to live without them in her life. The role of love in Persepolis is to motivate Marjane to act based on selfish motives because her love is actually love for herself. Marjane’s relationship with God is actually a relationship with her own personality. Her relationship with God is first shown in tandem with her desire to become a prophet. She states on page 6 that “[a]t the age of six [she] was already sure …show more content…
This desire is really a different way of stating that she wishes to make a difference in the world. Marjane also says that “[she] was very religious but as a family [her and her parents] were very modern” (Satrapi 6). Again, this is a mislead statement concealing a desire to show the world her inner convictions. If she was actually religious, she would not want to be a prophet. In Islam, Muhammad is universally noted to be the final prophet of God. Marjane blatantly ignores this detail of her religion as a sign of selfishness rather than a sign of faith. God is not a religious presence in Marjane’s life; he is a companion to Marjane in her desires, satisfying the human need for interaction. God is an embodiment of Marjane’s narcissism and inner thoughts. Simply put, Marjane’s relationship with God is a relationship with her innermost feelings and ego designed to provide her with confidence and a false sense of safety in her personal endeavors. She further demonstrates God’s origin in her own personality when she says that “[t]he only place [she] felt safe (during the Islamic Revolution) was in the arms of [her] friend (God)” (Satrapi