Tricky Bruce

In Fun Home, Bechdel draws a parallel between Oscar Wilde’s trial and her father’s own trial. She compares and contrasts the bizarre public trial of Wilde’s homosexuality and the quiet hush-hush of her father’s trial. This is an interesting story to parallel but Bechdel seems to also be comparing her father’s trial to another event: Watergate.

This second parallel is not one that Bechdel ever seems to elaborate on unlike Wilde’s but the thought is there. Nixon is ever present in this chapter. Watergate is first mentioned by Bechdel early in the chapter on page 154 when she is recounting how hectic the summer was for her. This is immediately following a scene in which her father talks about his own trial and how he must go to counseling on page 153. Bechdel mentions them both at the same time to loosely show that they were both happening in her life in the summer of 1973.

As the chapter goes on, Bechdel makes reference to Watergate a few times. She talks about how it reached a point of tension and regularly interrupted broadcasts she wanted to watch. Bechdel talks about a similar tension in her domestic situation, her father and mother were increasingly arguing and Bechdel was told they may have to move depending on the result of her father’s trial. The Watergate investigation showed the nation who Nixon was as the truth was brought to the surface for all to see. Bechdel’s home life was similarly on edge as her father could possibly be exposed as a homosexual to the town.

On page 180, when her father’s own trial comes to a conclusion, Bechdel notes that Nixon resigned days later. They both reached a climax at the same time. Just a few panels later, their family hosts a lawn party for the cast of the play her mother is in. In the background of the panel, a man is seen reading a TIME magazine stating “The Healing Begins.” Ford, Nixon’s Vice President and successor, pardoned Nixon in his first few days of office in order to allow the country to heal from what was seen as a national disgrace. This implication is that the healing is beginning after the conclusion of Bruce’s trial. 

There is an argument to be made that the country never really healed from Watergate. I doubt that is lost on Bechdel. Her own parent’s marriage was held together with metaphorical duct tape. 

I thought this was an interesting parallel that was drawn in front of us. Bechdel used an event that rocked the nation to show how her own domestic life was rocked as they both follow a similar course of events.