In The Shadow of Young Girls in Flower, written by the cartoonist Alison Bechdel, the author reminisces on her childhood after her father's death. Her father was obsessed with flowers and feminine attributes wanting his daughter to be the perfect girl, but Alison knew she didn't fit that mold and wanted to be masculine. After her father's death, she uncovers secrets that give light to the way she feels.
Alison grew up in the '60s, and ‘70s when being anything but straight was not allowed. When her father dies, she discovers that he acted as he did because he was feminine on the inside and liked men. I believe that Bruce, her father, was trying to one live through his daughter because he could not express his true feelings and wanted to protect her from her masculine feelings. He wanted her to be what he wasn't. This is also true in today's society. Parents push their children to be what they want them to be and sometimes forget it is the child's life, not theirs.
I think this autobiography focuses on a couple of important messages. The first is that words don't describe everything. You can't always put your true feelings into words, and here the author uses pictures to tell the story more accurately. The second message is that you have to be yourself and can't hide your whole life because you will be miserable. For example, Bruce decided to marry his wife and have a family, which forced him to cheat on his wife and have affairs with men he loved. After her father's death, Alison learned from this and decided to be herself and live her life how she wanted. Lastly, this shows how we don't know everything about a person, even those closest to us.
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