Reza Character Analysis

Reza is Marjane’s first boyfriend in Tehran and her eventual husband. As a veteran of the Iran-Iraq War, Reza is able to make Marjane feel connected to the war in a way no one and nothing else is. Being somehow connected to the war is so important to Marjane that she overlooks all the other ways that she and Reza are incompatible. Though Reza is as liberal as Marjane in many ways, he also dreams of having a traditional family with children and has a close relationship with his parents. He’s neat and introverted, which contrasts greatly with Marjane’s messiness and extroversion. For his part, Reza falls in love with a version of Marjane that Marjane suggests isn’t really her—when they meet, Marjane has reinvented herself to be more sophisticated. Reza doesn’t appreciate the real Marjane, who isn’t as interested in fashionable clothes and makeup and who is a sullen smoker. Like Marjane, Reza refuses to see that their relationship isn’t going to work out. He asks Marjane to marry him so they can rent an apartment together, which they can’t do if they’re not married. Their marriage is one of convenience; they don’t get married because they know they want to spend the rest of their lives together. As a husband, Reza becomes cruel and mean. He consistently picks on Marjane, though they pretend to love each other in public. The best time in their marriage is when they work together on their final thesis. But when Tehran’s local government turns down their designs for a theme park based on Iranian mythology, Marjane realizes she doesn’t love Reza anymore. This is a shock for Reza, as he wants to work harder on their marriage. Marjane doesn’t share what happens to Reza after they divorce, but it’s implied that he stays in Tehran while Marjane travels to France.