One of the most influential characters in Fun Home is Bruce Bechdel, Alice Bechdel’s father. To the outside world, he appears to be the perfect father with the beautiful home, relatively stable income and three kids. However, he has a secret: because he lives in Beech Creek, a small town unaccepting of the LGBTQ+ community, he has to hide his gay identity.
Bruce Bechdel plays an imperative role in shaping both Alice’s personal and professional life. Her relationship with him is quite complicated. Throughout the entirety of the novel, he is portrayed as an emotionally distant and sometimes abusive father. When he did interact with Alice in her early years, he often viewed her through her utility in helping him beautify their house. As Alice put it, “I grew to resent the way my father treated his furniture like children, and his children like furniture” (Bechdel 14).
Another thing that Bruce often did that Alice detested was dress her up in very feminine clothes. Alice is gay, and often described her childhood as her trying to be more masculine. She was called “Butch” by her cousins and viewed as a tomboy by many. Despite Bruce’s actions squashing a part of Alice’s identity, they may be seen in a more sympathetic light. Bruce trying to dress her up in feminine apparel might’ve been his way of protecting her from the same judgement he was afraid she would face in Beech Creek.
As Alice got older, Bruce and her started to bond over a shared love of literature. He often encouraged her to read different texts in college, which could’ve indirectly helped Alice to become a writer. Furthermore, the gay texts Bruce recommended to Alice helped her ultimately embrace her sexuality and declare herself a lesbian. Bruce also seems to be supportive of this discovery: when he finds out, he tells her it is healthy for experimentation.
However, shortly after Alice comes out, Bruce kills himself. Many people believe it was a freak accident, but Alice thinks it is a suicide. It seems plausible that the latter is the case. It could be that when Bruce finds out Alice is living as an open lesbian, he realizes that he could have had a much more enjoyable and fulfilling life if he had just decided to move and come out, which now seems like a realistic option. And, upon this realization, he becomes so depressed that he believes suicide is the only option.
Ultimately, Bruce Bechdel is a multifaceted and very complicated character, and it is hard to analyze him through purely one light. However, I believe that he is a reflection of Alice: a sort of “failed” version where he is unable to live out his dreams and wishes like she is.
Comments
Post a Comment