51 pages • 1 hour read •
The Stationery Shop of Tehran
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Symbols & Motifs
The Stationery Shop
The Stationery Shop is the novel’s central symbol, embodying both the ideals of freedom and the idealism of youthful love, reflecting The Ties Between the Personal and Political. Fakhri opens the stationery shop after he is forced to abandon his relationship with Badri. He conceives it as a temple to intellectual, political, and romantic freedom. As well as stocking inspirational international and domestic works of literature, Fakhri actively aids both clandestine political movements and forbidden love by passing messages between the pages of the books he sells. Roya initially sees the shop as a refuge from the turmoil of political and family life. Instead, she soon realizes that the store is at the center of political resistance and its books are part of the struggle for reform and freedom.
When the shop burns down, Fakhri reflects that it cannot really be destroyed, since the ideals that it represents will live on. Fakhri’s predictions are realized in the reproduction of the shop that Bahman opens in New England. As the rise of the digital age means that business is in decline for Bahman’s family, the implication is that Fakhri’s hopes and ideals will nonetheless live on in the hopes and memories of the next generation.
Food
Food is an important motif in the book, full of associations with identity, connection, and home. The ritual of cooking together is integral to Roya’s relationship with her mother and sister and a key factor in making their house a home. The sensual enjoyment of food is also given erotic connotations when Roya and Bahman enjoy pastries together at the Ghanadi Café, further deepening their relationship. When Roya moves to America, the differences that she feels most acutely are those surrounding cooking and hospitality. She is able to form a loving relationship with Walter and, later, with his sister Patricia when they are willing to learn about the culinary traditions of Persia. At the end of the book, the act of cooking together welcomes the lonely, orphaned, and rootless Claire into the family and enables Roya to make peace with the past and look forward to another spring.
Cinema Metropole
The Cinema Metropole is symbolic of the burgeoning metropolitan culture of mid-century Iran. Like the Stationery Shop, it is a place where young intellectuals and idealists are exposed to and inspired by international art. The cinema is particularly associated with Zari and Roya’s early idealization of Hollywood and American film stars. Bahman recalls their dates at the Metropole in his letter in Chapter 24, when he describes an arson attack on another cinema, Cinema Rex, which leaves over 400 people dead. This episode reflects the brutality with which cosmopolitan cultural life in Tehran was suppressed.
Child Loss
Child loss is another important motif in the book, tying into the theme of The Nature of Memory and Loss. Roya is deeply disturbed when Mrs. Aslan blurts out her grim prophesy about child loss in Chapter 7. She carries the warning with her like a curse and it scares her off having a family of her own for some time. Roya’s loss of her first child, Marigold, in some sense realizes Mrs. Aslan’s predictions. However, as Roya overcomes her initial devastating grief and shock, she draws a different conclusion: that babies, like loving relationships and ideals, do not really die but remain in the hearts and the memories of those who love them.
The Seasons and the Persian New Year
The passing seasons and the recurrence of the Persian New Year at the beginning of Spring mark the passage of time throughout the novel. The cyclical movement of the seasons contrasts with the linear chronology of history. The celebration of the Persian New Year marks Roya’s continuing ties to her homeland, even after she has spent most of her adult life in America. It is also symbolic of humanity’s endless capacity for regeneration and renewed hope: No matter what tragedies she has faced, Roya always embraces this moment of rebirth and new life.
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