Comparative Study


Before she leaves Iran for Vienna, Marjane spends the night with her beloved grandmother, who advises her that no matter how others treat her, Marjane must not lose sight of who she is: ‘Always keep your dignity and be true to yourself’. Her father repeats the same message at the airport, saying ‘Don’t forget who you are and where you come from’.


Marjane finds it easy enough to make friends in Vienna, but not so easy to keep them because she is still not sure of her own identity. She tries hard to fit in and to be as Western as possible, even denying her nationality and pretending to be French, but doing so makes her feel that she is distancing herself from her parents, her culture and her origins. She remembers with shame her grandmother’s words: ‘Always keep your dignity and be true to yourself’. The turning point for Marjane comes one day when she overhears a group of youngsters talking about her in a café. They believe she is lying about where she comes from and they mock her looks and accent. Marjane storms over to them and shouts, ‘I am Iranian and proud of it!’ Although she is shaken by the incident, Marjane feels proud at the same time. She says, ‘I finally understood what my grandmother meant. If I wasn’t comfortable with myself, I would never be comfortable’.


Part of the difficulty for Marjane in establishing her identity as an independent young woman is that she has no support system in Vienna. Therefore, when she falls in love with a Viennese student called Markus, she projects all her needs onto him, expecting him to be everything to her. Unfortunately, Markus is a weak, selfish and manipulative young man. The relationship is destructive and when it ends messily, Marjane’s sense of self is dealt a terrible blow. She leaves her boarding house, sleeps rough for weeks and ends up in hospital after falling seriously ill. At this low point in her life, Marjane decides to go back to Iran.


Returning home is a huge culture shock for Marjane. She didn’t feel she fitted in when she lived in Vienna, and now she finds she has changed too much to fit in with the people she used to know in Iran. Her girlfriends seem impossibly glamorous and are surprised by how plainly Marjane is dressed and made-up. They ask eagerly about her sexual experience but when Marjane begins to tell them, they turn on her, asking ‘So what’s the difference between you and a whore?’ Marjane realises that her friends’ sophisticated clothes and make-up hide identities far more traditional than her own.


Marjane becomes depressed and goes to see a psychiatrist, telling him that she feels like she is ‘constantly wearing a mask’. She is prescribed pills but continues to feel worse and takes all the anti-depressants at once in a suicide attempt. Fortunately, Marjane survives this attempt to take her own life and when she has recovered a little, she speaks to her therapist, who says it must be divine intervention that spared Marjane’s life. Marjane decides that she was not meant to die and vows, ‘From now on, I’m taking myself in hand’. She takes a new interest in her appearance, has a wardrobe of modern clothes made and becomes ‘a sophisticated woman’. Marjane’s parents are delighted by this positive change in their daughter and encourage her in helping her life to take ‘a completely new turn’.


342 King Lear and Comparatives


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