Public/Private

One of the most important factors in studying a person’s identity is by reviewing how they are in a public setting versus a private setting. There is a way in which a person may act in public setting that masks who they truly are, whether it is to protect themselves from the dangers of expressing oneself in a society that doesn't allow it or the fear that they would become a social outcast. In Persepolis, a graphic novel about growing up in Iran by Marjane Satrapi, we see an adolescent girl in the midst of finding herself in a society where outspoken identities are forbidden. She faces many dangers when out in public, trying hard to conceal the visible entities that make up her identity under a hijab and manteau. However, when she is home, a private space that is hidden behind curtains, she is able to escape the shadows and express herself. An even deeper understanding of a private space could be in thinking about the self. There isn't a place more private than a persons own body and mind, a private place where the outside world can't see or touch, a private place where a person, man or woman, can truly be themselves.

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