‘To live, it is not enough to be alive’

4 min readJun 6, 2026 03:46 PM IST

Marjane Satrapi's death was announced on June 4. (AP File Photo)

Can someone die of sadness? Marjane Satrapi’s family certainly believe the Iranian-born French graphic novelist and Oscar-winning filmmaker died of a broken heart, a year after her husband of three decades Mattias Ripa passed away. While doctors weigh in on whether it is medically possible or not, anybody who has read her 2009 novel Chicken with Plums, which was also adapted into a live-action film, will know that Satrapi certainly believed that one could simply pass on after losing their raison d’être.

Much like Persepolis, her debut novel, Chicken with Plums, is a memoir, this time of her great uncle, Nasser Ali Khan, who upon losing his reason for existing simply decided to get in bed and die, and passed away through sheer will on the eighth day. They say a person’s life flashes before their eyes before they die, and so Satrapi takes us on a journey following her great uncle from the day he decided to die, to the day his wish was fulfilled, along the way giving us glimpses of standout moments in his life and in Iran’s history (especially the coup d’etat) , the ones that moulded his life and disposition. In the end, at least this reader felt he had truly died of sadness.

A vignette from Marjane Satrapi’s 2009 novel Chicken with Plums. (Marjane Satrapi/Pantheon)

The death of an artist

Why he was sad is another matter altogether. Most people who attended his funeral would have said that he lost his will to live after his tar, an Iranian string instrument, he was a renowned master of, was broken by his wife. He travelled far hoping to replace it, but it never sounded right. Others might have pointed out that as an artist he was prone to depressive episodes. Both would have been right, except Satrapi’s vignettes indicate that he died after his muse–a woman he had loved but whose father would not give her hand to a musician–abadoned him. In her retelling of this family chronicle, her great uncle’s musical prowess stemmed from his broken heart and the pain of an unfulfilled love story. But, as fate would have it, the day he went to replace his tar, he ran into her, only to find out that she did not recognise him!

‘To live, it is not enough to be alive’

The sadness was so intense that he lost all pleasures of life, including his music and his mother’s recipe of plum chicken. “I have lost my ability to taste, savour and enjoy,” he ruminates. Not just her great uncle, but his favourite daughter, his mother, and even a character in Persepolis, left their mortal coil wilfully smoking cigarettes on their death beds till their hearts gave up, because they understood that “to live, it is not enough to be alive.”

While her family has not revealed the physiological reason of the author’s death, some have interpretted death by “sadness” to mean takotsubo cardiomyopathy or  “broken heart syndrome,” a grief-driven temporary weakening of the heart, others have pointed out that  Satrapi was no stranger to depression. In Persepolis, she narrates an incident where she was almost successful in taking her own life.

Her final Instagram posts were a series of heartfelt, fragmented updates, a tribute to her late husband, that spelled out: “Because I have lost the love of my life.”

We lost Satrapi too soon. She was only 56.

Aishwarya Khosla is a senior editorial figure at The Indian Express, where she spearheads the digital strategy and execution for the Books & Literature and Puzzles & Games sections. With over eight years of experience in high-stakes journalism, Aishwarya specializes in literary criticism, cultural commentary, and long-form features that explore the complex intersection of identity, politics, and social change.

Aishwarya’s analytical depth is anchored by her prestigious Nehru Fellowship in Politics and Elections. This intensive research fellowship in policy analysis and political communications informs her nuanced approach to cultural journalism, allowing her to provide readers with unique insights into how literature and media reflect broader political shifts.

As a trusted voice for the Indian Express audience, she authors the popular newsletters, Meanwhile, Back Home and Books 'n' Bits, and hosts the podcast series, Casually Obsessed.

Before her current role, Aishwarya spent several years at Hindustan Times,  where she provided dedicated coverage of the Punjabi diaspora, theater, and national politics. Her career is defined by a commitment to intellectual rigor, making her a definitive authority on modern Indian culture and letters.

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