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What does Nasser Ali's friend Manucheur means when he says, "Two years of euphoria and wham! Mossadegh is in exile. The Americans and their allies own everything..." (P.8)

Is Nasser Ali an athiest? When he bids farewell to Houshang, he said, "Dear friend, life passes with or without God." (P.14) Fifteen years before, when his Mother was dying, he prayed every night to keep his Mother alive. In desperation he said, "God! I'm begging! Take some years from my life and add them to hers..." (P.59) His Mother died after six days of ciggarette smoking and listening to her son play his tar.

After five days of waiting to die, Nasser Ali concluded that Azrael, the angel of death was not keeping his appointment because someone prayed to keep him alive. Nasser Ali hypothesized that Farzaneh, his beloved youngest daughter prays for him but its actually not her. Ironically, its his least favorite child, Mozzafar, who prays for him.

__**Examining Nasser Ali's marriage to Nahid**__

When Nasser Ali was studying Tar in Shiraz, he fell in love with a girl named Irane. They both wanted to marry but Irane's Father refused to allow his daughter marry a musician. Nasser Ali was heartbroken and his tar playing reflected his suffering. According to his tar teacher, "The love that you feel for this woman will translate into your music. She will be in every note that you play. Do you understand me?" (P.78) Nasser Ali married Nahid reluctantly, mostly because of his Mother. She said, "Nasser Ali, how long are you going to keep thinking about Irane? This Nahid is very nice. She loves you. You should marry her." He confidently said, "But, Mom, I don't love her." Mrs. Satrapi said, "That doesn't matter. Love will come with time." (P.47)

Mrs. Satrapi had even further influence on his decision to ask Nahid to marry him, "When it comes to married life, character takes precedence over looks...So, what are you going to do?" (P.80) Irane is very attractive, compared to Nahid, who his brother Abdi says looks like a "sausage." As with Greta Garbo and Sophia Loren, Nahid is smoked herring and Irane is caviar. Nahid was very persistent and badgered him when he returned from Shiraz, "At the time, you were very depressed. So I came to see you once a week, then every other day, then every day..." (P.47) Nahid's sheer persistence influenced Nasser's choice to give up on marrying Irane and settle for Nahid. They had four children together, Reza, Mina, Farzaneh and Mozzafar. The day that Nasser Ali asked Nahid to marry him was the happiest day of her life, but everything went downhill for Nasser Ali from there. On the third day after he decided to wait for death, Nahid still loved him and wanted to reconcile. To this, he said, "Go to hell! I don't love you...I never loved you." (P.48) He harbours a deep hostility towards his wife since she broke his cherished tar, "I've lost my ability to taste, to savor, to enjoy!" (P.41)

Does Nasser Ali believe that he ruined his life by marrying Nahid, a woman that he did not love? His younger sister Parvine paid him a visit, thanked him for helping her through her divorce to which Nasser Ali replied, "I really didn't want you to live with a man you didn't love. I really didn't want you to ruin your life." (P.74) It would make sense that Nasser Ali thinks that marrying someone you don't love will ruin your life, it was not a wise decision for him or his sister.

After he is denied Irane's hand in marriage, Nasser Ali's tar teacher insists that he's playing beautifully because he's suffering, "You're suffering! that's why you're playing so well now.!" (P.77) Is Nasser Ali's tar-playing a way of resisting the miserable married life with Nahid that he never wanted and a medium to keep his love for Irane alive? The ullustrations convey that whenever he plays his tar, he thinks of his beloved Irane.