Appearances

In Alison Bechdel's memoir "Fun House: A Tragicomic", appearances are used by Bechdel's father, Bruce, in relation to his bisexuality, and later his homosexuality. Appearances are essentially false fronts or concocted images designed to hide the truth of things.

Bechdel compares her father to Jay Gatsby from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel “The Great Gatsby”. Gatsby is a character who gives the appearance of being a wealthy, honest man, but in reality has illegally gained all of his money. Bechdel’s father, Bruce, loves Gatsby for Gatsby’s ability to construct an image around the truth of his life, based on what he wants his life to be, rather than what it really is. For Bruce, however, it is a question of deliberately hiding who he really is - or, putting on a false appearance.

Bechdel explains early on that her father is obsessed with appearances to this...