Consubstantial and Spiritual Paternity in Fun Home
The tale of Daedalus and Icarus is referenced in Fun Home. In the tale, Daedalus built wax wings for himself and Icarus to escape imprisonment. Icarus ignored Daedalus's warning and flew too close to the sun which melted the wax and caused him to die. I think this is also where the saying "flew to close to the sun" comes from which you might of heard before. Although Icarus ended up dying he was able to ignore Daedalus's warning and do what he wanted. I think Daedalus's warning could represents Bruce's arguments with Allison over boys clothes as a warning for Allison to conform to societal norms. Allison choosing to come out as a lesbian could be seen as ignoring the warning like Icarus. Daedalus and Icarus are an example of consubstantial paternity which also applies to Allison and Bruce, but After Bruce confesses about his experiences, Allison monologues "I HAD FELT DISTINCTLY PARENTAL LISTENING TO HIS SHAMEFACED RECITATION" (Bechdel 221). I think...