Reading Lolita In Tehran Summary

Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisis, published in 2003, tells the story and observation of a women who brought eight students into her home for discussion of literature each week. In 1995 “I decided to indulge myself and fulfill a dream.”(184). states the narrator. Seven females and one male attended. As the women packed her things to leave Tehran her students and herself began to take photographs against the empty wall. One taken covered how they were forced to spend every moment of their lives and the other stripped from their black veils no longer hiding themselves. Although it may seem as if Iranian women can show their true inner selves even with their veils, in all actuality these women are unintentionally hiding their personality and inner light forced to cover all but their oval faces with a dark veil. Photograph is mentioned many times throughout the first chapter of Reading Lolita in Tehran. Taking a good look at the developed print opened the narrators eyes to each one of her students. The women moves through the photo brushing over each and every student. Both those who were …show more content…
A life of rules and hiding was what they knew. Their short time uncovered from the black drape made them realize the “timid faces in the city that sprawled below.” (234) We can assume from the reading that a life of hiding your expression and individuality would be dull and a discouraging time. These women brightened up and became knew people when they entered the narrators home. On the streets of Iran they were intimidated and quiet. Expressing a personality like many of the seven women and could end them up in very much trouble. The veil could be represented as a wall blocking the way. They could only go so far with how outgoing or bubbly they were before they were stopped. “When my students came into the room, they took off more than their scarves and robes.” (234). These women took a weight off their shoulders of