Alison Bechdel's Are You My Mother

Throughout her life, Alison Bechdel has been looking for someone to fill the role of her mother that her biological mother did not -- hence, the title “Are You My Mother?”. Bechdel’s needs and desires are never met throughout her life, due to her unhealthy romantic relationships and affairs, damaged relationship with her parents, and lack of support from the rest of her family.
Some parts of the comic memoir are told out of order, with alternating scenes of therapy between her new therapist, Carol, and her previous therapist, Jocelyn. This interspersion of scenes disguises the progression of the relationship between Jocelyn and Bechdel because Carol brings the narrative back to Bechdel’s family situation, specifically the relationship between Bechdel and her parents. The two therapists and their offices are drawn very similarly, but the astute reader may be able to pick out the chronological order of scenes. Early on, Bechdel mentions to Carol a potential explanation for the reason that she was so interested in Winnicott’s work was because she wanted him to be

Instead, it may have been seen as a lack of understanding or connection between the two of them. Regardless, Carol’s words served as a reality check, showing Bechdel that a therapist cannot serve as a substitute for rewarding relationships between friends and family. This incident happens after Bechdel’s 4 years of meetings with Jocelyn, during which Bechdel tries to find meaning behind their meetings. Bechdel confesses that she hated being just another one of her clients. Jocelyn takes a different approach than Carol and becomes subjective, saying “I like you.” and that Bechdel must have been adorable as a child because she is adorable even as an adult. Jocelyn breaks some of the rules for therapists, such as not being objective in her evaluations, by giving Bechdel reassurance when it was not her place