Fun Home: Living with Abuse

In Fun Home, Alison Bechdel pulls her readers into a few funny, sad, and confusing moments of her life. Ironically enough, the sad moments between the Bechdel children/Mrs. Bechdel and Mr. Bechdel strike me the most. Alison Bechdel’s father seems to be a very harsh and lost man who uses his wife and children as an outlet for the frustration and confusion within his own life. As Bechdel recalls an argument between her mother and father, her father yells to her mother, “You’re the one with the problem, you crazy b*tch” (70). Not only is Bechdel’s father’s comment degrading, but it is also abusive towards her mother. The next caption involves ripped pages and Bechdel’s mother nervously yelling, “Those are library books!” in which Mr. Bechdel vengefully replies, “Good. Take that back to the f*cking library” (70). Alison Bechdel clearly contrasts her mother’s comments from her father’s spiteful personal attacks which involve profanity. These arguments which the Bechdel children hear between their mother and father are also considerably mentally disturbing. The ways that the children hear their father degrade their mother can, and may have, created a number of psychological problems for the children. I would argue that Mr. Bechdel is mentally abusive—although unaware—towards his wife and children. Do you all agree or disagree that Mr. Bechdel was mentally abusive towards his family? Could he have been physically abusive?