HUMAN 1C Lecture 19: How Can One be Iranian at Home and in Exile?
Lecture #19: How Can One be Iranian at Home and in Exile?
Scene of Marji and her mother going to the grocery store
● He addresses her as “my sister”, which she objects to because this is familiar rather than
the proper way to address her. She tells him to respect her to which he threatens that
men rape “women like her”. This shows the loss of civility, manners, and respect.
● Her mother cries out of shock and offended, but these are also tears of regret - how is
this revolution we supported now targeting us?
● Her mother removes herself and her daughter from the revolution, as where Marji is
more courageous...
Scene of the revolutionary guard giving a lesson about proper appearance of women
● She challenges the men for demanding women to wear longer head scarfs and narrower
trousers.
● She points out the double standard that women are responsible for both their own
appearance and the burden of men's’ gazes, but men are responsible for neither.
● She also outlines the difference between religious belief and simply the opposition to
fashion.
Scene of Marji telling her grandmother about getting a man in trouble to protect herself
● She was all dressed up with makeup on when the Guard showed up. She was afraid she
would get in trouble so she threatened a man standing nearby for gazing at her. He gets
arrested and her grandmother condemns her as a “selfish bitch” for her actions.
● When Marji claims she didn’t have a choice, her grandmother states that she always has
a choice, that everyone always has a choice.
● Her family has lied in the past to protect themselves, but this situation is different
because it resulted in an innocent man to be arrested instead. If they save themselves
without harming someone else, that is okay. But if they do harm someone else to protect
themselves, especially since Marji finds this funny, that is ethically unjust. She links this
back to members of her family that have suffered beforehand, family members that
sacrificed themselves for justice.
Scene of Marji living in the convent in Austria, struggling to cope with Iranian stereotypes
● One of the nuns says to the other nuns that “It’s true what they say, Iranians have no
manners”.
● In response, Marji is outraged and insults the nun, causing her to get kicked out.
Scene of Marji objecting against her friends; statements
● One of her friends was talking about how life was pointless, to which she says “Some
people give their lives for freedom”. She finds their view of reality unbearable because
she knows there are individuals dying in Iran for their ideals.
Scene of Marji reaching puberty
● “It was a time of constantly renewed ugliness”
● She describes the changes in her body with a level of alienation, as if she is not one with
her own body. This alienation and transformation related to her as a teenager but the
way she describes it is almost monstrous. This is reflective of the anguish she is
suffering in Austria, she doesn’t feel at home and she can’t anchor herself in that reality.
● With this her identity becomes a point of contention.
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Document Summary
Scene of marji and her mother going to the grocery store. He addresses her as my sister , which she objects to because this is familiar rather than the proper way to address her. She tells him to respect her to which he threatens that men rape women like her . This shows the loss of civility, manners, and respect. Her mother removes herself and her daughter from the revolution, as where marji is more courageous Scene of the revolutionary guard giving a lesson about proper appearance of women. She challenges the men for demanding women to wear longer head scarfs and narrower trousers. She points out the double standard that women are responsible for both their own appearance and the burden of men"s" gazes, but men are responsible for neither. She also outlines the difference between religious belief and simply the opposition to fashion. Scene of marji telling her grandmother about getting a man in trouble to protect herself.
