Reflections of Grief in Fun Home
Fun Home maintains a somewhat fragmented narration, with no chronological order. The book jumps from one moment to another, with Alison depicting stories from her childhood on one page and her university years on the next. There's no linear plot because the story has no conclusive ending. Not only does the book shift in time, but it also moves back and forth between Alison’s feelings of appreciation toward her deceased father, Bruce Bechdel, and her resentment and confusion toward him. By structuring the memoir out of chronological order, Bechdel highlights the complex nature of memory and grief, showing how her evolving understanding of her father shifts between admiration for his intellect and frustration over his emotional distance.
I see this book as a depiction of the grieving process, whether or not that was Bechdel’s intention when writing it. Writing out thoughts and memories is a well-known coping method, and Bechdel uses this approach throughout the book. She revisits her childhood and reflects on what it was like growing up with her father. Bruce was a meticulous and strict man, obsessed with household pristineness. Bechdel describes the contempt she felt for him, stating, “I grew to resent the way my father treated his furniture like children, and his children like furniture” (Bechdel 14). And yet, she always felt a certain connection to him. They were different in many ways, but they also fit together like puzzle pieces. As she reflects, “I was the Spartan to my father’s Athenian. Modern to his Victorian” (Bechdel 15).
There are many moments in the book where Alison expresses love for her father. They shared a deep appreciation for literature, and Alison admired Bruce’s literary knowledge. Books served as a bridge between them, with Alison frequently referencing literature throughout her memoir. Later in life, Bruce gave her a book about a lesbian poet, a gesture she later realized was his way of acknowledging her sexuality. Of course, the most profound connection between them was their shared queerness. Even though Alison resents his emotional distance and secrecy, she recognizes the unspoken bond they shared because of it.
This connection makes it difficult for Alison to fully resent her father. When she discovers Bruce’s relationships with high school boys, she feels betrayed but also struggles with the fact that, while she can openly embrace her sexuality, her father had to keep his hidden. While she never excuses his actions, she feels a deep sadness that he could never live the life he wanted. She wonders how different he might have been had he been able to embrace his true self.
Through this book, Alison tells the story of her relationship with Bruce while also revealing the complexity of familial relationships. Her father committed inexcusable acts, but he was still her father. She hated him at times but also loved, respected, and learned from him. She sees parts of him in herself, making it difficult to fully condemn him. Writing this memoir allowed Alison to revisit aspects of her life she hadn’t considered in years. She was able to process her grief in all its forms: sadness, denial, anger, acceptance. While Fun Home is widely recognized as a groundbreaking graphic memoir, its most significant impact may have been on Bechdel herself, allowing her to make sense of her grief and complicated emotions toward her father.
-Larissa
Hi Larissa, I definitely agree that the unchronological manner of Fun Home reveals the complex journey of her processing. I think it really shows the ups and downs that come with her and her relationship with Bruce. I definitely see this book as one about grieving and the process that Alison went through as well.
ReplyDeleteHey Larissa, I agree that Alison's relationship with her father, the often contradicting emotions of respect, hate, and understanding produces a complex situation that Fun Home tries to show. She loved him for his ambition and focus on craft, hated him for the neglect and emotional abuse, and understood how he came to be. Alison dove into different parts of her life and tried to connect pieces and stories to try and make sense of her emotions and the most significant part of her life. Their relationship was never perfect, but it was intertwined with mutual understanding and shared experiences.
ReplyDeleteI very much agree that the book itself is a complex visual/textual reflection of the grieving process, and it makes sense that it is written with a considerable amount of historical distance from events--there's no way, implicitly, that Bechdel would have been able to process and delve deep into this story with the appropriate degree of detachment and perspective if she's tried to write it in 1982. And this subjective/emotional/"therapeutic" nature of the narrative is reflected in its choppy structure, as you note--and this is ALWAYS true throughout this novel, as every incident from childhood is now seen in a new light based on more recent revelations. Bechdel simultaneously depicts her younger self in a state of innocence/ignorance while ALSO constantly interjecting and reminding readers of what is "really" going on, along WITH the memories of childhood, which also reflects what's really going on. (It gets so confusing just trying to formulate coherently how this narrative works--you could see me getting tangled up in my own words in class discussion!)
ReplyDeleteHi Larissa! I really love your unique take on Fun Home. Throughout reading it, I was honestly confused by Bechdel's jumping around in time. The lack of linearity frustrated me as I tried to follow the storyline. However, you have a really good point that it's more of a grieving process for Bechdel than it is a piece of entertainment for the reader. Of course, we are lucky that she lets us in on this extremely personal journey, but we can't expect a person's actual life to be tailored to the reader's expectations. We may not be experiencing things in an objectively accurate way (for example, Bechdel treating her father's death as a certain suicide despite the fact that it was officially ruled an accident), but what we get in exchange is a raw depiction of how Bechdel experiences it all.
ReplyDeleteLarissa, I agree which you when saying that the fragmented nature of the narrative reflects that there may be no conclusive ending. I also believe that the reason Bechdel chose to write this way is that in a way, the drafting process was one of much reflection for her. Reflection is not always linear. While she was writing this book, it is possible she found herself jumping to different memories with her father and the order that they appear in the book is true to how she wants to depict them. She reflects on her empathetic feelings toward her father and she also acknowledges a lack of disdain for the nature of his relationships. I think she is overwhelmed by the fact he could never be who he was.
ReplyDeleteHi Larissa, I never really thought about why the story was structured the way it is, but your point on how it shows the messiness of grief and emotions make sense. I do think that this structure definitely lends well for the message Alison is trying to portray, that her father's death is ambiguous, and his personality and actions as a whole are also ambiguous. As you mentioned, we do see her shift from seeming to be one dimensional regarding her father to being uncertain about him in the end. Nice post!
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