When I started reading this book, I was pretty unimpressed. As I continued reading, I became more and more interested in what Bechdel was trying to say in her story. The pictures added so much to the writing. This seemed like such an unusual yet affective way to translate her own story into A Family Tragicomic.
Children see themselves through their parents. One of the gifts and curses of our youth is to try to mimic our parents. We seem to beam inside when we do something “just like mom” or “just like daddy.” Somehow our identities are wrapped inside and around our parents. Eventually, through our own growth, this changes and we become our own person. Sometimes, through their aging, our parents begin to look at us in the same way we once looked at them.
Although Alison grew up in a “museum” with her mother and abusive father always at odds, she longed to understand both of them. She wanted to understand her mother’s standing in the home. She already thought she knew her father as the “head” of the household. He was the tyrant; the one who everyone cringed when he walked in the room.
Mom had to make sure that everything dad wanted was done. She lost herself and her own personality and dreams “obeying” her husband. She made sure he wanted for nothing because there would be hell to pay if he lacked something – anything. The children made sure they did everything to keep their father happy. They knew how he would react if his rules weren’t obeyed.
Yet, Alison’s life and writings seem to parallel her father’s life in so many ways. As a young adult in college, she reached a new dimension when speaking with both of her parents. She asked the questions she had always wanted to ask. Some of the answers she got from her mother were not what she expected. Some of these honest answers were exactly what she expected and some were certainly more than she needed or wanted to know.
When approaching her father with her own identity and his identity, she was a little apprehensive. She wasn’t sure how he would react to her identity. She was less sure how he would react to talking about his identity. She was relieved when he spoke openly about his own life. She was grateful to have this time with him and his understanding of who she realized she was. The similarities and comparisons were uncanny. She always knew he would be there for her and she was happy to have his understanding and feel his love. Pages (230-232) " but in the tricky reverse narration that impels our entwined stories, he was always there to cath me when I lept". The End.
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