Comparing Bruce and Alison
Alison and Bruce are opposites in so many ways yet so similar and connected. Firstly, they are exactly opposite in both their sex, sexuality, and gender expression. Bruce is a closeted, feminine gay man, while Alison is a masculine, out and proud lesbian. Yet they are similar in their obsessive mannerisms, Alison with her "I think" habit with her diary and other OCD compulsions, and Bruce with his perfectionist house redecorating. They share their love of English and as Alison grows older they begin to discuss a variety of books with each other.
Their differences forces a harsh perspective on Alison's life growing up, but it also allows her to reflect and grow on her circumstances. Bruce was unable to come out like Alison has, growing up in a less inclusive time. This had forced him to marry Helen, raise kids, and perform the role as a masculine father. Because of this, Bruce is abusive in many ways to his children which strains the way Alison views him.
Fun Home discusses these differences between Bruce and Alison and the effect is has on their relationship. As the book progresses, their relationship begins to be shown in a more positive manner that helps readers sympathize with Bruce. Alison becomes more sympathetic to Bruce as she processes the grief of his death and the trauma of her childhood, uncovering the details of why he acts and is the way he is. Bruce's death was a shock to Alison, who then struggles to find a proper explanation connecting the event to herself, thinking that he has committed suicide following the news of her coming out.
The book does not solve the mystery of his death, but it offers reconciliation to Alison regarding her relationship with Bruce as a result of her internal reflections of their differences and similarities. The differences between Alison and Bruce are crucial in understanding their similarities, which forge their relationship and the meaning behind it. Bruce has fundamentally shaped the person Alison is, laying the foundation behind the book Fun Home's existence.
I totally agree. I think the reason Alison is so sympathetic towards Bruce, maybe even when he doesn't deserve it, is because she sees the similarities between them that you brought up. That might make her wonder why they ended up so different when in theory they have so much in common, which is partly explained by the society he grew up in. Great post!
ReplyDeleteyah, your point of "The book does not solve the mystery of his death, but it offers reconciliation to Alison regarding her relationship with Bruce" really resonates. I feel like to a degree Fun Home isn't necessarily the story of Allison's childhood but rather like a eulogy (is that the right word lmao) of sorts. Allison is attempting to process her grief through fun home, and yeah she's analyzing her relationship with her father to accomplish that.
ReplyDeleteI agree about how Alison and Bruce seem like both complete opposites, but also deeply connected, and I think it's interesting how Alison's relationship with Bruce changes over the course of fun home. It's interesting to see how Bruce's own shortcomings have shaped Alison's growth and how she was able to eventually come out while he never did.
ReplyDeleteI think you make a really true and interesting point about the book being a reconciliation for Bruce's death rather than an explanation. throughout the novel Allison draws similarities from herself to Bruce through things like their personalities.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Alison and Bruce may seem like complete opposites at first, but as the layers of the story begin to be uncovered, we can see how similar they are, and that many of their differences are the products of the different time periods they came of age in. Unfortunately, it is only just before his death that their shared queer identity is recognized, so although there was potential for them to bond further over this similarity, it was cut short due to Bruce's death.
ReplyDeleteI agree that not only are they different in their presentation and mannerisms, they went down almost alternate paths. I think part of what Alison struggles with after Bruce's death is that she tries to imagine herself having gone down the same path he did. Because they are similar in important ways, she sometimes struggles to antagonize him.
ReplyDeleteThe contrast between Bruce and Alison is really intriguing. Despite their differences on the surface, I think that the two have more in common than they thought. Bruce isn't the greatest dad by any means, but I think that Alison's similarity to her father prevents her from hating him as much as one would expect. Nice post.
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