Alison and Bruce's Bond
Fun Home was a wild ride that left me questioning many aspects of the book. Most of the book left me feeling confused and quite honestly stupid for not understanding Bechdel’s numerous allusions. What struck me most about the book was Alison’s relationship with her father. Throughout the course of the book, she and her father seem very distant without much of a relationship. However, in the very last chapter of the book Alison starts to illustrate how close they were towards the end of his life. However, this chapter was confusing for me because based on her narration they didn’t seem to be that close, but then a visitor pointed out their bond, and that was the first we really saw of their fondness for each other. Obviously, they bonded over their shared love of literature and their queerness, however now I’m wondering if certain small moments in the book might be clues as to how close they actually were.
Throughout the course of the book, Alison describes interactions she and her father shared, but none were particularly pleasant. They traveled to the city together and saw the butch woman in the diner. That interaction left a sour taste in Alison’s mouth when her dad was judgmental of the woman. Of course, this interaction wouldn’t make it seem like they were close, however the fact that they went to the city alone together probably means that they were closer than it appeared.
I also found it very interesting that despite Alison’s father being a sexual predator, she still wanted to have a connection with him it seemed. She didn’t seem to look at him much differently, and she even said in the book that had he been preying on girls she would have felt differently. This would appear to mean that they are close, as she doesn’t seem to be that bothered by it, and still tries to connect with him.
I also have to wonder if they had more pleasant interactions throughout her childhood that she didn’t include because they didn’t fit the narrative of her memoir.
I agree that the chapter in which Bruce and Alison seem a lot closer than throughout the rest of the novel was startling, but it kind of makes sense in the scheme of the whole story. Like you said, Alison still remained close with her father despite his negative affect on her gender expression and his predator allegations, which does kind of makes sense. After all, it is possible to continue to love someone and feel connected to them despite their more than questionable actions. But it makes sense for her to want to somewhat distance herself from him in the novel for those same reasons, which is why I think a reader could come away feeling as though Alison and Bruce actually weren't that close.
ReplyDeleteYou make a lot of good points in this post, I think Alison and Bruce's relationship is one of the things that confused me the most about the book. I'm glad that Bechdel didn't try to simplify it, because she would have lost so many important aspects. I think with the comment made by the visitor, the closeness of the characters is really called into question, the reader and the characters all have different opinions. The theme of concealment is important for understanding the relationship, in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you're saying here a lot. The sudden change you mention really makes me question how much of their relationship is left out of the book. Obviously Allison can't mention every interaction between her and her father and it might be a huge invasion of privacy to talk about some of them, but she chooses to emphasize the negative interactions especially at the beginning and then describe her relationship with her father in this positive way, which seems a little weird.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the points that you're making and that chapter that showed that they were close also caught me off guard. This shows how an author or someone who takes time to create a product can show what side of the story they want. Like even social media influencers and celebrities only showing the highlights of their lives and trying to display a perfect images. This makes me think about how much more of Alison and her relationships with other people she's leaving out of the novel.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Like you and the people in the comments are saying, I was surprised at her confession that they were close. Up until that point, if asked to describe their relationship I would have said strained at the very least. Most of the encounters she describes with her father seemed negative to me. This passing comment that they were close almost seemed like a confession to me. Bechdel has spent the book reflecting on the bad parts of her dad and to me it seemed as if she was almost embarrassed to admit they were close.
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