One of the most influential characters in Fun Home is Bruce Bechdel, Alison 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 Alison’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 Alison in her early years, he often viewed her through her utility in helping him beautify their house. As Alison 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 Alison detested was dress her up in very feminine clothes. Alison 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 Alison’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 Alison 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 Alison to become a writer. Furthermore, the gay texts Bruce recommended to Alison 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 Alison comes out, Bruce kills himself. Many people believe it was a freak accident, but Alison thinks it is a suicide. It seems plausible that the latter is the case. It could be that when Bruce finds out Alison 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 Alison: a sort of “failed” version where he is unable to live out his dreams and wishes like she is.
It is indeed true that Bruce is living as a closeted gay man who wields his family and home as a kind of public certification of his straightness and conventionality. And clearly *Alison* is entirely blindsided by her mother's announcement that she has been living with Bruce and his issues for two decades at the time Alison chooses to come out. So the book represents, largely, her attempt to go back and reconsider her life experiences in light of this new information.
ReplyDeleteAnd yet, as we get to the end of the book, it does seem that Bruce's status is kind of an open secret in Beech Creek: the court case clearly seems to use purchasing alcohol for a minor to "stand in" for more serious crimes and taboo behaviors, and the judge seems to be doing Bruce a favor by granting this misdemeanor charge but also requiring him to get psychological "help." The court seems to know what's really going on in this case, even if Alison did not. It seems likely that Bruce's relationships with young men in his classes is something of an open secret--the incident that gets him in trouble revolves around an older brother who has reason to be suspicious of Bruce's intentions with his younger brother. And then near the end, we're maybe shocked to learn that Beech Creek actually has a gay bar (which itself seems like something of an open secret--if you know you know), and that Bruce is something of a regular. There does seem to be a kind of tacit agreement that everyone will look the other way at Bruce's "indiscretions," and then mutter what a "good man" he was at his funeral. We have reason to suspect that Alison, due to her youth, might be among the last to learn about Bruce's secret life.
Hi Renee, I can definitely see Alison as a not failed version of Bruce as she is allowed to live freely compared to Bruce as he always stayed as a closeted man to his death. I think it’s interesting how you both showed the similarities and differences in Bruce and Alison and I do think that Bruce at the end of the day did his best in being a father to his children even though I agree with his methods, his kids never found out who he truly was until after his death. Great post!
ReplyDeleteHi Renee, I for some reason never realized that it was possible that Bruce killed himself because he realized what his life could've been like after seeing Alison live her life after coming out. I think its totally plausible as he already sees Alison as a manifestation or like a extension of himself as we see him very often trying to make Alison more feminine, something that he possibly wanted for himself. Anyway, great job!
ReplyDeleteHi Renee! I like how you showed the good and bad parts about Bruce so people can really understand how complicated his character was. At first he would restrict Alison from her ability to express herself the way she wanted, but then he was supportive of her coming-out announcement and gave her books to read to further embrace her identity. This made me question where he stood with her decision, but I think the way he went about Alisons ability to openly express her sexuality really showed a sense of envy and insecurity.
ReplyDeleteHi Renee!!! I really enjoyed reading your post. I love the topic you chose because Bruce is such a complex character, who is pretty fun to analyze because he hides a part of his identity. I found the point that you made about how he was dressing Alison up more femininely so that she doesn't have to be judged by the town a great one. I also thought that he could've maybe dressed her up more femininely to sort of mirror what he wanted for himself, but I don't know. He is such a complex character that we don't really know what his true intentions were. You made some really good points in your post. Good Job!!!
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