Towards the conclusion of Alison Bechdel’s autobiographical graphic novel, Fun Home, she writes at length about her mother’s tenure as Lady Bracknell in a production of The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. Naturally, having recently finished my second reading of the play for Victorian Sexualities, I was fascinated by the potential ways in which Earnest‘s narrative melds and contrasts with Bechdel’s lived experiences.
If Helen is positioned in the role of Lady Bracknell, then Alison is positioned as Gwendolen, the Lady’s daughter, over whom she holds a great amount of sway. Within Earnest, Gwendolen pursues an engagement with Jack Worthing—known to her by the name Ernest—but is hampered in her efforts by the Lady’s insistence on first interviewing Jack regarding his personal assets and virtues. Bechdel includes a particular exchange between Gwendolen and the Lady on page 154 of her novel, in which Gwendolen/Alison is told that “an engagement should come upon a young girl as a surprise.”
This moment comes almost one hundred pages after Bechdel narrates her coming-out to her mother, receiving a response in which Helen claims Alison’s “choice [is] a threat to [her family and work]” (77). The outright rejection of their children’s “choices” draws the first of many parallels between the Lady and Helen. Throughout Fun Home, Bechdel consciously draws several literary parallels between her and her father, ranging from the English literary canon to Greek mythology. Helen, however, is given far less attention in this department, save for two particular notable instances: an early comparison to “The Addams Family” and this instance of theatrical interplay.
Lady Bracknell within The Importance of Being Earnest functions as a sort of dominating force to rival Algernon’s farcical power over a given room. In Bechdel’s own words, when Helen steps into the role, she becomes a veritable “Victorian dominatrix to rival Wilde himself” (164). She does, of course, place great value in her work within the home, but within Earnest, she is placed upon a stage to be gazed upon as a figure of authority. With the knowledge of Helen’s broken marriage, the role of Lady Bracknell becomes then a sort of therapeutic device through which she can devote herself entirely to something more stable than her typical activities.
Although Helen is oftentimes overshadowed by the narrative of Bruce, her husband, The Importance of Being Earnest and Lady Bracknell allow her a space for creativity and self-expression separate from her family unit. She is expanded upon as a character and a force within her family through her constant dedication to this work in a way that would not be possible without the direct connection to the literary canon Bechdel explores within her time at college.
I like how you drew a parallel between Fun Home and The Importance of Being Earnest. I never thought about the similarity between Alison Bechdel and Gwendolen before. I wonder how Bechdel would position herself in either Greek or Victorian literature/art. We see with her father the reversal of the story of Icarus and with her mom more gothic references (Addams family/The Importance of Being Earnest) but, Bechdel seems to mold herself into the stories her parents fit.
I love your point about Helen’s character being expanded through her theatrical work. It feels like this is one of the only places in the memoir where we see her not as a passive figure trapped in a strained marriage, but as someone with agency, artistry, and presence. I also like how you identify this as a “therapeutic device.” That phrase really captures something essential about how people sometimes turn to literature and performance not just as hobbies, but as survival strategies.