"In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower" is a graphic novel written by Alison Bechdel. The story is essentially Bechdel's understanding of her own lesbianism through her father's hidden homosexuality. The story continually develops the speaker's discovery of her father's feminine side such as his weird obsession with gardening, and his very strict guidelines for his daughter's wardrobe. There's also the introduction of Roy, who appears to be the speaker's father's secret lover.
The speaker's lesbianism is revealed from the start. She notices her father's persistence in her feminism, but she grows tired of it. She finds herself growing toward being a connoisseur of masculinity. Her cousins even refer to her as "Butch" at a young age, which obviously indicates a masculine side. As she grows older, she finally understands her lesbianism. Her dad's death leads her to understand that she has been lying to herself all her life and that she is completely lesbian.
The speaker I've been referring to is the author, Alison Bechdel. I researched that this story is just a chapter of her upbringing. The name of the chapter is "In the Shadow of a Young Girl's Flower" which was originally a novel written by Marcel Proust. In Bechdel's chapter, it is discovered that Proust was similar to Bechdel's father. He was also into a friend of his, named Alfred, just as Bechdel's father was into his friend Roy. Bechdel titled her chapter after this novel because of the similarities between the two.
This chapter of Bechdel's upbringing gives way for the reader to understand all of her works. She is a unique writer in that she is a lesbian and is very proud of who she is.
Commentaires