Is there something in the script you don't understand? You should be able to find it here. All terms are in alphabetical order. I recommend you read through this page regardless, because there may be a little tidbit somewhere that surprises you. Enjoy!
Allegheny Historical Society
The Allegheny area has several historical societies. Beech Creek falls under the Centre County Historical society, the oldest and largest of the county's historical organizations. Explore their website here.
Allegheny plateau
The Allegheny platueau stretches from New York to West Virginia. The discovery of coal caused a large influx of settlers in this area, meaning this area holds a lot of history.
Aneurysm hook
See the Running a Funeral Home page.
Baker’s department store
Baker's department store in Beech Creek, or at least the Baker family, may date back to a merchant who settled in Beech Creek in 1833, John Baker. The store is no longer in business.
Beech Creek High
The Beech Creek high school was first built in 1904 and started with a two year high school program. Bruce Bechdel's ancestors attended this school when it was first build, and 50 some years later Bruce Bechdel became a teacher there. The Beech Creek high school has since closed. Now high school students attend in neighboring towns.
Bill Smoot
A Beech Creek resident who ran for town council.
Bleecker Street, New York
A West-East street in Manhattan, running through Greenwich Village from Abingdon Square to the Bowery and the East Village.
Bobby Jeremy
The singer of the band in Alison's head that sings 'Raincoat of Love.'
Body prep
See the Running a Funeral Home page.
Brinley
Daniel Putnam Brinley was an American painter and muralist, active in the early 1900s.
Bust of Quixote
Quixote is the main character in the novel Don Quixote, about a Spanish nobleman who loses his sanity and decides to be a knight, rejecting reality and living in his own fantasy world instead.
Cosgrove’s
A grocery store in Beech Creek. Mark worked in the stockroom, while Medium Alison is at college her brother John works there.
Danville
A town in Pennsylvania nearby Beech Creek. Bruce's court-ordered psychiatry took place in Danville.
Dresden figurines
A figurine or doll with a body made of fabrics and a head made of porcelain. Usually decorated with lace, feathers, sequins, and more as clothing.
Formaldehyde
See the Running a Funeral Home page.
Gay Union
The LGBT group on Oberlin's campus that Alison joined.
Greenwich Village
A neighborhood in Manhattan. Otherwise known as the West Village.
Hardy Boy Books
Alison notes that in her childhood she "got a new Hardy Boy book." The mention of this series is interesting because it has a famous feminine counterpart, the Nancy Drew series. The two children's mysteries series are incredibly similar, the main difference being The Hardy Boys follows boys and Nancy Drew follows a girl.
Hectoring
To behave in an arrogant or intimidating way (Merriam-Webster).
Hepplewhite suite chairs
Hepplewhite is a style of furniture popularized by George Hepplewhite. Hepplewhite furniture generally dates from 1780-1810.
Herbie Rides Again
The 1974 sequel to The Love Bug (1968). A comedy about Herbie, an anthropomorphic Volkswagen Beetle.
HIstrionics
A deliberate display of emotion for effect (Merriam-Webster).
Humectant
A substance that promotes retention of moisture (Merriam-Webster).
Irma Hornbacher
Another actress involved in local theatre with Helen.
Jungian rebirth
See the Significant Books page.
Maple Avenue
The street in Beech Creek where the Bechdels' home was.
Mrs. Warren's Profession
Helen Bechdel appears in this play when Alison is young. Mrs. Warren is the madam of a string of brothels in Victorian England. Arguably Shaw’s best play, it is a withering critique of male domination, sexual hypocrisy, and societal convention.
Munich
A city in the American Occupation Zone of West Germany after WWII.
No Nukes’ poster (1977)
A poster advocating against nuclear power and/or weapons.
Norman Bates
The main antagonist of Psycho.
Partridge family
A musical sitcom that ran from 1970 to 1974 about a widow and her five children who form a musical group and tour the country in a converted school bus.
Roman-a-clef
See the Significant Books page.
Rotary club
An international service organization involving business leaders. A Club is a specific chapter of the Rotary International organization.
Take Back the Night march
A march with the mission of ending sexual, relationship, and domestic violence. Take Back the Night is an international organization that sponsors many events with this cause, including marches.
The Frick museum
An art museum in New York, with a collection of fine furniture, old master paintings, and sculptures.
The Love Bug
A 1968 comedy film about a Volkswagen beetle named Herbie that has a mind of its own. Herbie Rides Again is its 1974 sequel.
The Red Baron in his Sopwith Camel
The original Red Baron was a German WWI flying ace, Manfred von Richthofen. However, Sopwith Camels were only flown by the British and the Baron flew a Fokker Dr.I triplane. The Red Baron shows up frequently in Peanuts cartoons as an enemy of Snoopy in his daydreams— Snoopy flies a Sopwith Camel that the Baron usually shoots down with ease. It’s possible this is what Alison is referencing, although the Baron still never flew a Sopwith Camel.
The Susan Deys
Susan Dey played the second-oldest Partridge child, Laurie, in the Partridge Family sitcom. The Susan Deys are the backup singers with Bobby Jeremy during 'Raincoat of Love.'
Toulouse-Lautrec
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was a French painter and printmaker around the same time Colette was writing, both about society in urban Paris at the turn of the twentieth century. The point Joan makes in saying, "he didn't send you a book about Toulouse-Lautrec, he sent you Colette," might be that Bruce could have sent Alison anything about Paris in that time period if that was what he wanted her to learn about.
Uta Hagen
An American actress and acting teacher whose methods built on those of Stanislavski.
Varnish
A liquid preparation that when applied to a surface dries to form a hard lustrous typically transparent coating (Merriam-Webster).
Village Voice
An news and cultural newspaper based in New York City.
William Morris
An english textile designer and socialist activist. Bruce used William Morris wallpaper in the restoration of the house.
Women’s Collective
A women-only organization/residence at Oberlin College. They hosted events Alison attended though she did not live there.