I am not excusing any bad behavior but in some odd way maybe the dark is necessary to the light. You have to be able to imagine (or even do, I suppose) some of the bad stuff to appreciate how important the light is, I think.

But I don't know. It remains a conundrum.

To me Holden Caulfield remains such a real character that sometimes I find myself hoping he didn't grow up to be some bitter woman-hater or callous CEO.

Thank you for the comment and thank you for the kind words--