Bruce Bechdel's Inappropriate Relationships
While we were reading Fun Home I wondered a lot about what was going on with Alison’s dad in terms of his inappropriate relationships with teenage boys. This information was dropped pretty nonchalantly at the beginning of the book so I hoped that Bechdel would talk about it more later on. I was a bit disappointed with how little she shared about this topic because it seemed very important especially in terms of gauging her father’s character. However, I do understand that this isn’t really related to the parts of her relationship with her dad that she expires in Fun Home.
I decided to do some digging to see what I could find. I couldn’t find much more than what the reader can infer from the book about what Alison’s Dad actually did. According to Pennsylvania Law, it wasn’t illegal to supply alcohol to minors until May of 1988. Alison’s dad was arrested in June of 1974 (Center Title 18). Alison writes that there was a certain undertone to her father’s arrest. In the book, there is talk of the family potentially having to move. Some readers have speculated that this might have been because of a restraining order or that they had to move farther away from a school (Pollok). These crimes seem to be much more serious than was implied in the book. Alison clearly understands that there is more than meets the eye in these cases and perhaps didn’t want to share them with the whole world.
I really enjoyed reading Fun Home but one thing that bothered me was how Alison glossed over her father’s relationships with teenagers. I didn’t like how she treated her father’s relationships as some sort of stifled Queer expression as some sort of justification. I appreciated how she discussed her father in such a nuanced way, but I wish she’d been more clear about these relationships. I thought that she glamorized these relationships, especially the one with Roy. I have lots of symplathy for Bruce Bachdel. It must've been very diffuclt for him to live a life where he couldn't be his full self. But there's no excuse for this type of relationship.
Bechdel, Alison. Fun Home: a Family Tragicomic. Houghton Mifflin, 2015.
Center, Legislativate Data Processing. “Title 18.” The Official Website for the Pennsylvania General Assembly., www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/LI/consCheck.cfm?txtType=HTM&ttl=18&div=0&chpt=63&sctn=10&subsctn=1.
“Image of Roy from Fun Home.” Maize Books, www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fquod.lib.umich.edu%2Fm%2Fmaize%2Fmpub9739969%2F1%3A19%2F--life-writing-in-the-long-run-a-smith-watson-autobiography%3Frgn%3Ddiv1%3Bview%3Dfulltext&psig=AOvVaw1qxsmpMP3_XcRKl3GTyy8Z&ust=1617650992975000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCICW5typ5e8CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD.
Pollock, Autumn. “Bruce Bechdel's Legal Trouble.” Fun Home Dramaturgy Hub: SUNY Oswego, sites.google.com/oswego.edu/funhomehub/depth-research/bruce-bechdels-legal-trouble.
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I agree, I don't think she really talked about the implications of those inappropriate relationships enough. Apparently the age of consent in PA is 16 as of now but that doesn't apply if the adult has some sort of authority over the minor. Either way, his predatory behavior was incredibly disgusting and although it's interesting to learn about Bruce it definitely feels like we're supposed to feel sympathetic and forgive him for that behavior.
ReplyDeleteYour impression of these details in the book is very interesting for me to read, since I actually had nearly the opposite take. I thought that Bechdel's descriptions of her father were incredibly interesting to read about and perfectly portrayed the way she would really feel in the situation - with so many other nuanced memories overshadowing the facts of his crime. I think the amount of speculation she has about what Bruce could have been and how he could have lived his life in a way that would have prevented his unhappiness and potential suicide kind of shows that she does have a bit of a cognitive disconnect from the actual effects of his crime. She focused so much more on introspection about the causes and even the poetic value of his relationships with Roy and other men, and I do think it may come from a place of deep understanding of her father (ironically enough, the understanding of his situation comes in part from her own experiences with him in her childhood) and of what a place like Beech Creek made of someone who did not fit it's standards.
ReplyDeleteI agree with a lot of what you're saying here. One thing that I might bring up is the way that Bruce's own early sexual relationships are characterized by his wife as molestation. He doesn't seem to view it this way when he talks about it, but it does seem like it could be a cycle of these kinds of age-inappropriate relationships. This doesn't justify Bruce's having relationships with minors, more that I think this is made even more concerning when considering the impact of Bruce's actions and how he may have perpetuated a cycle like this. This is of course all guessing I have no idea what his impacts actually were and I don't want to make any claims about damage he may not have done.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you in that I felt like Bruce's inappropriate relationships were briefly mentioned and never talked about again, but I still wanted Alison Bechdel to elaborate more because it seems like it could play a huge role in a child's life. After reading your blog post (and also because time has changed), it doesn't seem like Bruce's actions were as big of a deal during the 70's, but that makes me even more uncomfortable about the whole situation. Also, after reading another blog post about clues on things Alison Bechdel left out about her relationship with Bruce, it got me thinking more about what else Alison is leaving out, and this topic seems like it could be one of them.
ReplyDelete