[Spoilers] Oscar: Not what you thought?

[AuldWolf]

This post contains spoilers about the subplot of Gone Home.

I'll preface this by saying that I'm familiar with the theories about Oscar being a pedophile, but after discussing this with a good friend of mine (Justlikesoup) for a while, we've come to the consensus that it's unlikely, and we have our own thoughts on the matter.

Oscar the Cross-Dresser

Something happened with Oscar that greatly upset his sister, and it lead to him being restricted to his home, and Terrence never visiting again. It's easy to paint child abuse onto this, but with all of the secret areas of the house, one would think there would be some evidence of this. However, there is none. He asks forgiveness, but for what? He also has a cross, but where do we find it?

We find his cross, the symbol of his repentance, in a secret corridor amidst women's fashion posters. Yes, Oscar was gay, and a cross-dresser. What happened on that fateful day of 1963 was a discovery made by a young, 12-year old Terrence, one he took home with him to his mother. The '60s were a very conservative period, and this would have lead to all sorts of fears on Oscar's part -- as he might have feared that being gay and a cross-dresser, and having this discovered by a young boy might be enough to get him institutionalised.

He repents upon his homosexuality, but he's now a prisoner of his own home. His sister threatens him with going public if he ever leaves. His pharmaceutical knowledge is now put to finding some relief to the huge amounts of depression he now feels. He turns to morphine in order to deal with his growing anxieties and decaying neurological state, since he's had to deny a base truth about himself.

Interestingly, Terrence is fascinated with the murder of JFK. JFK was murdered in 1963, the same year that he made the discovery about his uncle. But what if JFK wasn't the target of his obsessions? In his book(s), they were focused around the idea of time-travelling to save someone. He ruined his uncle by making knowledge of his uncle's cross-dressing habits available to his mother. He was young and he didn't know any better, and as such this was guilt he carried around with him throughout the years. He wanted to go back and stop his younger self from ruining his favourite uncle's life. (Take into account the names of the books -- Saviour, Pariah (meaning outcast), and Human. The first two about saving someone in 1963, the latter about saving himself.)

The discovery of one of his daughters being gay was too much, it pushed him over the edge and caused him to become more reclusive himself. He was outwardly hostile about her homosexuality as he believed wholeheartedly that homosexuality could only lead to personal ruination, based upon his own guilt. He feared that he'd watch the same thing become of his daughter that he had of his uncle, and he simply couldn't stand even the merest notion of that. So he tried to put the kaibosh on their relationship.

The girls were also fascinated by Oscar, as though they knew more about him than we did. It was almost as if they idolised him and saw him as something of a tragic hero, they felt for what he had to go through, since they were in the same boat. Perhaps they discovered the same evidence that Terrence had, and felt a strong connection to him. He became an icon of the sort of life they'd have to live.

So that's the theory. Oscar was a cross-dresser, and the discovery of it ruined him. It took away his profession, his connections with the outside world, and so on. All due to his sister's fears that his connection with children might prove to be a cancerous influence. That it had already even been a cancerous influence to her son.

I had originally entertained the idea of Oscar being a pedophile, but there are too many pieces that just don't fall quite into place with that story -- such as how the young girls idolised him, and how Terrence seemed to want to go back in time to save his uncle.

And that's the conclusion my friend Justlikesoup and I came to. Both she and I were equally fascinated by this game, and wanted to contribute.

I hope you enjoyed reading this!

Edited to add: Justlikesoup also points out that the safe was possibly added some time after Terrence's last visit. This supposition is based upon the combination, which is also that auspicious year -- 1963. That being the year that Oscar last saw Terrence. So this possibly implies that the safe was not presence when Terrence was visiting.

It is possible that the combination was changed after the fact, but from a narrative standpoint it's likely more possible that it's meant to imply that the safe came later.

Also, when the soda fountain opened up, Terrence was first in line. This implies that he had no reason to fear or feel uncomfortable around his uncle, that his uncle was someone he had a great deal of love for. Hence the guilt at ruining his life. If Terrence had been abused, then he might not have attended that opening. Again, this could imply that the abuse occurred between 1959 and 1963, but I don't believe that's the case.

[Luftmensch]

The child molester theory seems a little more plausible.

[SmithDoc]

The developer has admitted that Oscar was a child molester. There's a link to a podcast and article in the Disturbing Spoilers Thread.

[Yard Meat]

No.

I don't think you mention the re-assembled note hidden in Terry's desk drawer, OP. Take a look at that.

The evidence is conclusively explained in this thread: http://steamcommunity.com/app/232430/discussions/2/864976115585347932/

[Sweet Dee]

I doubt being caught crossdressing once would destroy a prominent public figure's family life, even in 1963.

[FizzySquirrel]

You know not all crossdressers are gay, right? And not all gay people are crossdressers. Then there's still the toy horse.

[Zapur]

I originally thought that he was gay, but not a crossdresser. Crossdressing doesn't really fit to me. but then, I found the horsey toy, and I think it's there for a reason, I think this'll fall under molestation. Which is still technically gay.

[Sweet Dee]

Oprindeligt skrevet af Ren:

I originally thought that he was gay, but not a crossdresser. Crossdressing doesn't really fit to me. but then, I found the horsey toy, and I think it's there for a reason, I think this'll fall under molestation. Which is still technically gay.

Huh? Not all gay men molest people and not all child molestors are gay. The myth that gay men are more likely to be child molestors is nothing but a destructive myth from the 70s. I know I've read recent studies showing men who molest children are usually not attracted to adults at all, vs. gay adults who are attracted to other adults of the same gender. So I don't see a clear connection between Sam being a lesbian and Oscar being an abuser. I can see why Terry might be uncomfortable with any kind of sexuality expressed by his daughters, after what he went through, but that's different.

[Mirm]

Oprindeligt skrevet af Elaine Benes:

Oprindeligt skrevet af Ren:

I originally thought that he was gay, but not a crossdresser. Crossdressing doesn't really fit to me. but then, I found the horsey toy, and I think it's there for a reason, I think this'll fall under molestation. Which is still technically gay.

Huh? Not all gay men molest people and not all child molestors are gay. The myth that gay men are more likely to be child molestors is nothing but a destructive myth from the 70s. I know I've read recent studies showing men who molest children are usually not attracted to adults at all, vs. gay adults who are attracted to other adults of the same gender. So I don't see a clear connection between Sam being a lesbian and Oscar being an abuser. I can see why Terry might be uncomfortable with any kind of sexuality expressed by his daughters, after what he went through, but that's different.

Elaine is right. Pedophilia has nothing to do with being attracted to a gender. It is an attraction to children, plain and simple.

"For the present discussion, the important point is that many child molesters cannot be meaningfully described as homosexuals, heterosexuals, or bisexuals (in the usual sense of those terms) because they are not really capable of a relationship with an adult man or woman. Instead of gender, their sexual attractions are based primarily on age. These individuals – who are often characterized as fixated – are attracted to children, not to men or women."

http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/html/facts_molestation.html

[muckymucks]

Good theory, and I much prefer it to the pedophile theory, but the evidence favors the latter. It makes more sense for Terry to be obssessed with wanting to go back in time and save himself.

[Hooner]

Why can't it be both? Oscar was a cross-dresser and a male-male pedophile. Though these two do not necessarily correlate, they are suggested in the game based on the evidence revealed in the various clues.