Gift Hub

Tutor's Cell and The Moral Purpose of his Punishment, a Lesson for Children

I don't want the many children who love The Happy Tutor as their Silly Grownup, ally, role model, and friend, to be concerned that he is now in a Dungeon. He is just in a "time out," as you often are, when you are sent to your room,  whether you deserve it or not. The cell is just his room, in the Castle, a monk's cell, the only difference now is that he is forbidden to come out, until Momma says he has been punished enough, and he promises never to take Audrey off the island without permission. That is a good rule and for her own safety. Tutor may be a Morals Tutor, and a priest, but like the rest of us he has to be careful, follow rules, and listen to Momma. He is lonely, of course, but he is not totally alone. Audrey, when everyone is asleep, quietly goes down the stone stairs, and passes Tutor notes under his door, so they are still in touch.

A Gift Observed in Solitary Confinement: A Melancholy Post on Philanthropy and Civilization

Those who care about him, as flawed as he is, will be sorry to hear that Tutor has, for the last three weeks and two days, been banished to a small cold cell, two floors below sea level, for having messed up again. He went AWOL with Audrey to a candy shop on the mainland where the middle class people live their dull lives of endless toil. He and Audrey both gorged themselves sick on penny candy, slipping back into the castle well past Audrey's nap time. Momma, to say the least, was not happy. Master Jack gloated to see his rival Morals Tutor demoted from Second Most Trusted Advisor to Miscreant in Irons.

Tutor has been allowed to take only one book to his cell. He considered the Bible, but rejected it as work-related, given his role as Friar in Residence at the Castle, and besides he knows it by heart, in English, Greek, and Latin. Instead he chose A Gift Observed: Essays on Philanthropy and Civilization, a good slow read that could last days, months, years, or decades, depending on when Tutor will next hear the Jailer's key turn in the rusty lock, if ever that day comes.

So how come Tutor has to live in solitary, reading a difficult book, when Audrey only had to go to her room for 2 hours? Tutor pled guilty to being a bad influence on Audrey - it was his idea; he is a grownup;  he was the one who rented the skiff, and all funds expended were from his stipend, largely exhausting it for the month. At least the Dungeon is in the Castle. He might have been sent back to the Dumpster, which, now that he is out of it, seems larger and more commodious. Not that I wouldn't want him back, but it is good to be able to stretch my own legs out without tangling with his.