There are three narrative voices in Iranian-born author Marjane Satrapi’s graphic narrative, Persepolis–Marji the 10 year old Marjane who is the protagonist of the story, Marjane the adult who acts as a narrator, and Satrapi the author.

The story of Persepolis that is the events of Marji’s childhood in Iran is told primarily through Marji’s eyes. The ebb and flow of the narrative captures the youngster’s perspective, and the reader mostly experiences the story by seeing what Marji sees and observing her as she endures a revolution and a war.
However, the story of Persepolis is not simply the life of Marji. Her family, her relatives, her country’s history and its relation to world powers are an integral part of her narrative, and the reader is filled in on such details and historical elements by Marjane, the adult Marji who gives voice to these factors that little Marji can’t bring into her own life story. It is important to note that while Marjane is an important narrative voice in the entire narrative that is Persepolis, her input is always boxed off in a text set in the top (or bottom) of the panel. Marjane provides a crucial layer to the narrative, but as she is not part of the events in Marji’s story, she is never given a speech bubble (Chute 97).
Lastly, every individual comic panel and illustration, the clever plays with light and shadow, the Persian artistic influence that permeates the engaging artwork of the narrative, the significant illustrations of chapter titles all add another layer to the entire narrative of Persepolis. This layer is comprised of Satrapi, the author of Marji’s story. Like Marjane’s ability to see beyond the limited knowledge of Marji, Satrapi’s contribution to Marji’s story enriches her narrative.

If Persepolis consisted only of Marji, the reader’s knowledge would be limited to what the 10-year old knew at that time, and they would learn nothing more than Marji’s experiences as events progressed. With Marjane’s narrative, the reader is provided with the historical context of Marji’s story, as well as crucial family history that tells the back-story (and ultimate fate) of many significant figures in Marji’s life. The addition of Marjane’s perspective puts Marji’s story in a larger context due to the expanded knowledge that the older Marjane possesses. With the addition of Satrapi to these two voices, the visual element of Marji’s narrative is brought to life. In her essay on Satrapi’s graphic narrative, feminist scholar Hilary Chute argues that the author uses this “visual voice” (97) to “return to and present the historical events of her childhood”. This allows the reader to immerse themselves in Marji’s story, and conveys aspects of the story through visual means that could not hold the same significance if it were simply put in words.