I know many of us in class
had issues with Bruce in Fun Home because of his anger and abusive tendencies,
as well as the fact he tried to hide his true self in his marriage. Many of us
had a hard time finding sympathy for Bruce, but I would like to look at him
from a historical context and try to distance myself from my modern day lens.
The timeframe of Fun Home runs through the 70s and
80s and that was a very different time for a gay individual in this country.
Yes many things were starting to progress and it was becoming easier, but
someone of Bruce’s age in this time would have grown up in a different world.
Many people consider The Stonewall Riots to be the single most important event
that sparked the fight for LGBT rights in this country, but these riots occurred
in New York City on June 28th 1969. This is relatively close to the
time frame of Fun Home and at that time was still fresh and still a fight in
progress. Bruce and his family living in rural Pennsylvania likely didn’t see many
results by this time from the fight that was going on in other parts of the
country and even if they did
Bruce himself grew up
with a completely different set of values instilled in him. Homosexuality in
regards to many sodomy laws in this country was a felony until 1962. There were
many places where men could be picked up on the streets and arrested for
impersonating a woman if their hair was too long during this time period.
Police did genitalia checks at many bars the homosexual, transgender, and cross
dressing individuals were known to frequent back in this time period (one of
the things that directly led to the Stonewall Riots).
Bruce did not know any
world other than the one I just described. Does this completely excuse Bruce
for his actions and treatment of his family? I would say that it does not, but
if I were asked if it made it easier to understand where he was coming from I
would say yes. Ultimately I feel Bruce was doomed to his fate because of a
great deal of bigotry and homophobia that never allowed him to accept himself.
I have to agree with you, Alex, that it is so significant we consider the US's view of the LGBT community in Bruce's time. Like Edna in _The Awakening_, it is perhaps hard for us to understand death (even if it was suicide) as a reasonable solution to an outcast's life, but as you write, Bruce was doomed to an unfortunate fate because of his sexuality. Had he not died prematurely, he may have been subjected to the AIDS epidemic, as Alison suggests, or he may have suffered in other ways -- such as continuing a life in a loveless marriage. Sympathy is so tricky in these situations, but as readers with a critical lens it is crucial that we analyze with a degree of sympathy, I believe.
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