Bruce Bechdel's tombstone is a penis-shaped figure, a shape he loved. He even collected obelisks before his disappearance, and this strange hobby symbolizes his pursuit of young boys. In Bechdel's illustrations of Bruce calling young Alison into the embalming room, she emphasizes the corpse's penis by playing it as an intense part. Although such a crude image of the male sexual organ may surprise the reader, Alison shows no emotion. Young Alison's indifference finally concerns Bruce Bechdel's hidden homosexuality - a part of himself that he has repressed. Later, her daughter learns to suppress her emotional reaction to her loss of