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| Shelley Winters and Robert Mitchum in The Night of the Hunter (1955) |
When the narrator introduces the subject of her impending break-up in a conversation with her son, she admits that she doesn't "want to turn their father into the villain" (72).
Is he the villain?
If he is, is it good to hide that from their children? Is it deceitful?
I don't think it is quite right to label Sam as a villain because the term villain is typically used to describe someone who has committed more heinous actions than he has. To label him as a villain would suggest that he is entirely evil, which he is not. He obviously cares about his children and the narrator to some extent because he considers the effect his actions will have on them. Furthermore, he seeks to break the news in the least painful way possible, which could be seen as partially motivated by care and feelings of guilt. However, this is no way to excuse his immoral actions. Additionally, I do believe that is not good to hide the reason for their divorce from their children not only because it is deceitful, but also children catch on to things far more than adults give them credit for, especially, a child of Noah's age would put it together once he met Maggie.
ReplyDeleteHannah, I agree with you. Although what Sam did was wrong and hurtful, he still plans to be the best dad to his children that he possibly can. He still plans to see them whenever he can and raise them to the best of his ability while he has them. He still loves them, after all. The affair had nothing to do with his kids that we know of, and ultimately he did his best to keep them out of it. Personally, I don't think it's an awful idea to hide that from their kids until they get to an age where they can better understand the situation. However, if they started asking questions about it, I think it's ok to answer them.
ReplyDeleteWow, what a difficult and interesting dilemma! So, for me I think I want to revisit the first page or two of the story. Where the author feels betrayed about the bed time story. In my eyes this was a very innocent sort of sarcasm almost. Then fast forward to page 72 where she has undoubtedly been betrayed in some may argue the most severe way possible by her husband, and she doesn’t want to paint him the villain. I feel like that is such a hard place for her to be. Those same feelings of unworthiness are certainly arising in this situation, I know they would be for me. I think in this situation he is the villain. I also believe the author is being the much bigger person by empathizing and trying to see through her husbands eyes and her children’s eyes, and even though it would be fair of her to say to her husband you did what you did, and you don’t get to make our divorce into a fabled version of the story. I think hiding the truth in a family only makes things harder later when it inevitably rise to the surface.
ReplyDeleteIn the context of the story, Sam can be seen as the villain because his actions directly caused the breakdown of his marriage, loss of trust, and forced the emotional crisis. While he may express remorse for his kids, those feelings cannot change the harm he caused by having the affair. Despite their youth, telling them would be the most appropriate course of action. Kids are observant and may realize something is wrong. Keeping it a secret creates a false narrative that could cause greater harm when the truth is revealed.
ReplyDeleteWhile I do not believe what he did was in any way right, I would not say that he is a villain either. He may have gone about it in the wrong way, but he simply began to love another person. He was still trying to be a good dad to his children and does not seem to plan to leave them without a dad in their life. Their marriage had simply run its course and lost its spark. I do not like the idea of having an affair, but I do understand the idea of finding love in another person who understand you more. I wouldn't say that it is deceitful to hide it from the children, but they one day should be told the entire story from both perspectives so that they can decide what to make of it.
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