As Marjane and Reza’s marriage crumbles, society’s customs and expectations keep them from pursuing a divorce, which might make them happy. Iranian culture, Marjane shows, forces people to make choices they wouldn’t normally make to fit in and seem normal—but behind closed doors, those people suffer as a result of their choices. With this, Marjane illustrates that suffering can take many forms and often isn’t visible to those on the outside.