Rachel Stovall
In the final chapters of Fun Home, not only is the father's psychology delved into further, but we also get to see her mother's character develop more. Alison's mother is a perfectionist like her husband, but her obsession is to perfectly merge into different roles. Her obsessive reciting of lines shows just how adamantly she desires to live life by the script, without any improvisation in between. Perhaps it is just because she is under the overbearing thumb of her husband that she feels she that she must maintain the role of the 'perfect wife,' and make up for his lack of perfect husbandry just as Alison makes up for his lack of masculinity. Alison's mother is mostly silent, the few lines of dialogue are the conversations of characters and books and plays, and not her own. It is only after she decides to get a divorce that she firmly states her opinions. "I'm sick of cooking for him, and I'm sick of cleaning this museum(Bechdel 216)." The mother also begins to reveal the father as some sort of criminal, someone that Alison should be disgusted or ashamed of. It is only when Alison is older that the veil of childhood is lifted, and she sees beyond the roles that her parents play. Just as her evolution of literary text deepens, so does her understanding of her parents as individuals. Their actions become wrought with metaphor and meaning, and perhaps it is in this parallel that so many others are drawn between books and the events of Alison's life. Alison's mother has been rehashing over and over again the lines from the character named 'wife,' but in the absence of the husband, she begins to form a new identity for herself.
Do you think that the mother is a strong character? Why or why not?
Alison's mother was also described as being neglectful, but trying vainly to interact with her children "too much too late." In your opinion, do you think that she would have been a more caring mother if she wasn't married to Bruce? In what ways does she resemble him personality wise?
Do you feel that Alison connected more with her father or mother? Why do you think that she went to such great pains to line her shoes up so perfectly as to not favor one over the other? What do you think is meant by the fact that she names one shoe 'mother' and the other 'father?'
Would she have been a more caring mother is she was not married to Bruce? More than likely. It is hinted at several times in Fun Home that Helen looses part of herself when she marries him (rather, when she finds out the truth right after their honeymoon). I am not sure why she stayed; maybe she gave up and admitted dependence on their toxic relationship.
ReplyDeleteShe did love her children, in a cold, calculated way like Alison's father; however, a lot of that stems from the lack of support from her husband. Additionally, she is brilliant, but her intelligence comes from plays, acting, and the expressed word. Literature is a very important aspect of the Bechdel house-hold.
I agree I find her as not having filled the part of herself that her husband was supposed to do she stayed for the kids and to save face but it was more about self than the kids. The kids learned from both because they were their parents but the one that really had a deeper hook in their character development was the father. Both relationships were unfulfilled but the father waited too she was grown to finish being completely selfish where as the mother left earlier so the dad tried to compensate but he was to into self as well. Either parent could have had them as single parenting with the other as company or equal rather than constantly competing in the same space, the relationships would have been healthier.
ReplyDeleteI think her mother is strong. The fact that she still put up with her closeted gay husband in order to keep her family together meant she had no problem in sacrificing her happiness for their state of well being, but saying that I also see her as partially scared. She seemed as she was too scared to walk away from her husband when she found out about his lover on their honeymoon. It seemed as if she was too scared to let him go and move on to a better choice or she really over thought the situation and believed she could change him throughout their relationship. In all I seen her mother as strong but love stricken, to the point that her emotions slowly dwindled over time about her family.
ReplyDeleteI find it very interesting that you are writing about the mother. Most of the other paragraphs only focus on Alison and Bruce, but I think that the Mother is an important. She in herself is strong, and I think she is strong for herself and for her kids. She also puts up a veil as the “wife” and plays the part (even literally!)
ReplyDeleteI think that she may have gotten some of the habits of being neglectful from Bruce, because before they were married she seemed a lot more carefree. She tends to ignore the children sometimes.
At the end, I feel like she was equally connected with her parents. She tried to open up to her father earlier in her childhood because he pushed away from her. she opened up to her mother through letters later in her life; in college.
I find it very interesting that you are writing about the mother. Most of the other paragraphs only focus on Alison and Bruce, but I think that the Mother is an important. She in herself is strong, and I think she is strong for herself and for her kids. She also puts up a veil as the “wife” and plays the part (even literally!)
ReplyDeleteI think that she may have gotten some of the habits of being neglectful from Bruce, because before they were married she seemed a lot more carefree. She tends to ignore the children sometimes.
At the end, I feel like she was equally connected with her parents. She tried to open up to her father earlier in her childhood because he pushed away from her. she opened up to her mother through letters later in her life; in college.