Icarus and Daedalus Reversing Roles
The opening scene of Fun Home places Bruce on the floor of their living room, holding Alison in the air. Alison immediately compares her own height and danger of falling to the Greek myth of Icarus, the figure who–after his father, Daedalus’ invention–flew too close to the sun and fell into the Aegean sea. At the start of the book, Bruce is Daedalus, and Alison is Icarus. However, in Fun Home, Alison says that she isn’t the one who falls, but Bruce is. Bruce’s ‘fall’ can be interpreted in different ways, but I think the sequencing of the book attempts to show his fall as how her perspective of him shifts. At the beginning of the book, Bruce’s character is much simpler; we know that he’s a perfectionist, has a short temper, and is generally very cold to his family. Despite her best efforts, Alison struggles to find meaningful connection and interaction with her father. For so much of Alison’s childhood, and even up to the months before Bruce dies, Alison barely knows about him.
One of the climaxes of the book comes when Alison receives an important phone call from her mother after coming out as gay to her parents. Alison’s mother, Helen tells her about Bruce’s relations with Roy, a 17 year old boy and the kids’ babysitter, as well as some seniors in the high school English class he teaches. Helen also tells Alison about her father going out to gay bars, or other such clubs at night. This phone call shatters Alison’s view of her father, both for better and for worse. It’s suddenly visible that Bruce’s cold demeanor and his obsession for fixing up and decorating their house were all outlets as a way to hide his sexuality and identity. Alison questions why she isn’t more appalled by her father’s grooming. Despite how horrible so much of what Bruce had done is, there were parts of her father that Alison could actually connect with.
Alison’s relationship with her father changes drastically when she moves away for college. She and her father are able to connect through their shared love for literature. It is through one of Bruce’s book recommendations for Alison: Colette that she begins to seriously question her sexuality. This led her down a rabbit hole at her college library, leading to her joining the “gay union” and eventually making the inevitable call and coming out to her parents. Bruce is much more supportive of the news than Helen; he encourages her to experiment, while Helen worries about Alison struggling to fit in. As far as I know, Bruce and Alison only have one real conversation about her sexuality and identity: when they’re talking in the car on pages 220-221. The conversation they have in that car is the closest connection Alison has ever felt to her father, but in the end it kind of just fizzles out into nothing.
The very last scene in the book shows Alison jumping off a diving board into the open arms of her father, who is standing in the pool. This scene is a return to the metaphor of Icarus and Daedalus, except now, the roles have reversed. Earlier in the book, Bruce had been falling from his image as a cold, uncaring and emotionally unavailable father, whereas now, Bruce is already in the Aegean Sea (or the pool) and Alison is falling into his arms. In the first scene, when the two are playing airplane, and Alison falls from Bruce’s feet, he doesn’t catch her. By the end of the book, Bruce is able to support and ‘catch’ Alison, because he has already fallen and because Alison is able to find connection in his flaws, and the sides of himself that he hides.
-Sahnan
I like your idea that both of their characters switched from Daedalus and Icarus throughout the novel, and I agree. You did a great job finding the specific scenes to compliment their transition. I also see how they both fell, in a way, as the last scene depicts Bruce already in the pool, the Aegean Sea, and Allison jumping into it as well.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that you see the ending as a reversal of their roles, but I completely agree. It first seems as though Bruce is the one in a position to help Alison, but in the end Bruce has "fallen" and Alison starts feeling bad for him, making it feel like she is in the position to help him.
ReplyDeleteHey Sahnan, this blog is really insightful, especially in how Alison’s perception of her father evolves throughout the book. I found the contrast between the opening and closing scenes particularly powerful, Bruce fails to catch Alison at first, but by the end, she finds connection in his flaws. Great Job!
ReplyDeleteI love the direct comparison of the two "flying" games between Alison and Bruce, which bookend the graphic novel. It's true that Bruce has his characteristic "flat" expression in both images, which remains ambiguous, but he seems LESS detached and distracted in the second one--he looks like he really wants Alison to jump, and to know that he'll catch her, and it feels more like a classic or wholesome parent-child dynamic. But in terms of which of them "falls" in the novel, it is interesting that Bruce never quite has a "fall" in the classic sense--when he is tangled up in the law for his crimes and indiscretions, he ends up mainly "getting away with it," as he is only convicted of a misdemeanor for providing alcohol to a minor (the most minor of his transgressions, we might say). His secret is never exposed during his lifetime, and if indeed he commits suicide, his memory is sealed with the "cover story" that his death was accidental.
ReplyDeleteOf course, we understand that Bechdel means this "fall" more in terms of his truncated or failed hero's journey--his "failure to launch." Like Stephen Dedalus in Joyce's _Portrait of the Artist_, SHE is the one who successfully "flies by the nets" of convention and narrow thinking that constrains her in Beech Creek, while Bruce "returns to earth" by going home and taking over the family business. But I think it's notable that there very much COULD have been a "fall" in the more conventional sense in Bruce's case, where his reputation is ruined and possibly even leading to his incarceration in addition to his disgrace, but that never happens. Whatever his intentions, he dies with his cover story intact, and at the funeral it seems like Alison is the only one with any qualms.
The Icarian-Daedalean relationship between Alison and Bruce is widespread throughout the book, but I never actually thought of a "switch" in these terms. I analyzed it in a situation such that both Alison and Bruce could represent Icarus and Daedalus by themselves. I especially like your connection between the first and last scenes, as it brings out the switch theme more.
ReplyDeleteHi Sahnan! I think you present a really interesting parallel between Icarus and Daedalus and Alison and Bruce. I did not personally notice the differences between the opening and closing scenes, but I do think it’s noticeable how Allison is the one falling at the end with Bruce ready to catch her. What you say about Alison’s and the reader’s perspective of Bruce changing and how that relates to how he’s already fallen is really interesting to me too. Great post!
ReplyDeleteHi Sahnan! You make an interesting point about Bruce’s fall being more about Alison’s changing view of him than just his death. I hadn’t thought about how the opening and closing scenes mirror each other, but your explanation of the Icarus and Daedalus metaphor made a lot of sense. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteThis was an incedibly comprehensive post! It's amazing how such a small element of the book, that really only makes up a few pages, captures the entirety of the book's themes so well. The parrallel from the start to the end really shows the development of Bruce--or at least his development in the reader's eyes.
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