The prison had another important effect, I think. For decades my father had been wrestling with his own lusts. He found his desires unacceptable — and so did the society he lived in. When, occasionally, he was overpowered by the force of his instincts, he paid for his pleasure with agonizing periods of guilt. He had betrayed his family, he had betrayed himself, he had betrayed the laws of society. Teaching at Sing Sing made him think again about the wisdom of those laws.
