The Age of Coming

Throughout Fun Home , I was struck by Alison and Bruce's tendency to turn to literature and books to better understand themselves and the world around them as well as the sheer love they derive from reading. From Bruce reading Anna Karenina on the first page of the book to Alison reading key texts on gender and sexuality during her journey of self-discovery, books serve as an important way through which Alison and Bruce understand themselves but also grow the bond between them, a bond that can be tender sometimes. However, there were also scenes where Bechdel not just uses literature to indicate growth within Alice and Bruce but they serve as tools for foreshadowing.  Like mentioned before, Bruce is seen reading Anna Karenina on the first page - while this goes to show that he is well read and an intellectual and spends more of his time with his books than playing with his children (though he can be spared for a spot of airplane), Anna Karenina is an interesting choice to kick...

Throughout The Bell Jar , I was struck by how there is no middle path for Esther to go down - she can either continue the cycle of being an academic overachiever and deriving validation from scholarships and awards or submit herself to a life of housewifery and being a suburban mom, effectively throwing her education aside. It's hard to disregard the fact that a significant reason for her predicament is her gender - her socioeconomic class means that she doesn't have the safety net that others at her elite schools do to make some mistakes and be able to bounce back but this is exacerbated by the fact that she is a woman. Esther has nowhere to go the summer after she returns from New York and feels trapped by the image of Dodo Conway walking outside the window with her Barnard degree and six (maybe seven?) kids.  Esther already has a few career options available to her and her mother is constantly on her case about learning shorthand, a skill that will help her get a dull but se...