How Alison 'Forges' a Relationship With Bruce
We see from the beginning of Fun Home that Bruce is morally ambiguous. He is depicted as not especially caring for his children, being too concerned about the house, and generally being a lackluster parent for Alison. Furthermore, we know that he has had sexual relations with teenage boys, making the reader feel strongly against Bruce’s morality. For Alison, the lack of interaction with her father growing up and the general mystery surrounding him may have caused her to compensate by trying to create a more meaningful relationship with him.
We often see Alison described in opposition to her father in many ways. For example, we see from a young age that she has a dislike for her father’s aesthetic (in the house). We also see extensions of this divide between the characters in the way their sexuality is expressed. We see that Alison is taking her time to diligently read up on the lifestyle of being lesbian, and carefully coming out to her parents at the right time. However, Bruce’s sexuality is expressed through the abrupt leakage of illegal activities. This is made worse by the fact that his experiences have been with teenage boys, and that it slipped out very uncomfortably for Alison. This divide between the ‘proper’ and ‘improper’ and the fundamental basis upon which Alison builds her relationship with her father.
We see Alison begin to frame Bruce in a more sympathetic manner. We begin to realize that Bruce was suppressed by his ‘time’ to not show his sexuality. In many ways, his identity was hidden, and he was never able to come out and experience his sexuality in the right way, as Alison is doing in her life. By framing Bruce like this, the ready can, in some ways, feel sympathetic to Bruce. Furthermore, by framing Alison's life as an extension, or improvement, of the suppression, that her father felt, Alison is able to create a much more profound and deeper connection with her father than before. Although this may not be entirely artificial, I still think that part of her desire to create such a narrative is because of her lack of relationship with her father as a kid. Furthermore, the constant divides between them may have caused her to want to create common ground on an important part of their identities, that is their sexuality.
I agree that part of Alison's grief and grappling with the death of her father seems to be finding the commonalities in their storylines yet also noticing a clear divergence in their aesthetics. I find it very hard to characterize their relationship; while it is true that he seemed to be very detached in her childhood, we also get glimpses later on of him playing an important role in her life when she was old enough to discuss his favorite novels and they even frequently called in her time in college. He is the one to recommend her the novel that guides her in her sexual awakening, so we even see him become much more accepting of her identity later on in her life as opposed to trying to dress her conventionally when she was a child. There is so much gray area and I have a difficult time drawing the line between Alison's interpretation and the truth, although I think in the end, that part does not matter.
ReplyDeleteBecause Alison can relate to Bruce so much, she gets more sympathetic towards him as she learns more about his life and his troubles. The first time reading this book, I did find it odd that she doesn't seem to care about his predatory actions towards his high school students. Yes, it's difficult to come out, but in no circumstances should Alison have been that permissive of his behavior. I think that she was almost overly sympathetic in their relationship.
ReplyDeleteI think you make a good point about Alison's desire to connect with her Dad in some way. Throughout the book, she seems almost desperate to find some common ground or some way to keep a part of him with her. However, in doing this, she ends up ignoring or forgiving some of his very questionable behaviors earlier in his life and towards her.
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