In the "tragicomic" Fun Home we learn the true story of a young girl, Alison Bechdel, and her less than ideal upbringing. Alison's family is filled with lies and secrets that leave little room for intimacy or compassion. Throughout the graphic novel Alison gives numerous examples of the lack of intimacy within the Bechdel family, which ultimately leads to her growing up confused and filled with questions.
On the very first page of the novel we are greeted with the fact that Alison and her father's relationship is anything but ordinary. While playing "airplane," Alison describes that "it was a discomfort well worth the rare physical contact." It is interesting that she chooses to begin the novel this way, but I believe that it shows the importance that the lack of intimacy between Alison and her father had on her childhood and her future.
Next, on page 19, as Alison is getting ready to go to bed she suddenly gets the urge to kiss her father goodnight. She explains that "all I managed was to grab his hand and buss the knuckles lightly as if he were a bishop or an elegant lady." This act of comparing her father to both a religious figure and a woman is extremely ironic because of the fact that we know her father was gay. It also shows that Alison sees her father as more of a distant authority than a close family member, only adding to the lack of compassion within their relationship.
Not leading by a very good example, Alison's parents relationship is anything but compassionate. On page 68, Alison explains that her father does not even refer to her mother by name, instead saying things such as "the phone is for you." If, as a young girl, Alison does not see intimacy within her own family unit, there is no surprise that she has trouble with the same issues as she ages. She goes so far as to say she "witnessed only two gestures of affection between them." On both occasions, Alison feels extremely uncomfortable, as is apparent both in the text and the images within the panels on page 68.
Because of these issues of intimacy and compassion as a child, along with many other familial problems, as Alison ages she develops obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). One of her obsessions becomes her stuffed animals, and she treats each one as if it is a different member of her family; there is a father, a mother, and a baby. Each night Alison takes turns sleeping with each animal, so as to be fair and give everyone equal attention. This act of compassion for unliving objects shows Alison's deep desire for affection within her own family unit. Because she was not receiving the attention that any small child does, she acted out by forming her own family, which she was in charge of, and made sure to do everything right.
