Feminism is important in the novel.

Satrapi's novel is written from a feminist perspective, and thus the matriarchal side of her family features prominently in the story. Marjane's grandmother, as represented by her strength in caring for her children and her wisdom of peace and forgiveness, is the novel's chief matriarch. The end of the novel is a poignant scene in which Marjane falls into her grandmother's bosom and is sent out into the world with the mantle of matriarch now upon her.