Letter 3: Proctor to Elizabeth after his death

My dearest Elizabeth,

I cannot ever fully express my gratitude and love for you. I know I made a seemingly unforgivable mistake. I was unfaithful, and worst of all that led to this immense tragedy, something that would be almost unbearable hard and painful for you. I never wanted to hurt you Elizabeth, I know that I did, and I cannot believe it. With one mistake I played a part in unraveling our whole world. I am sure it would seem strange to say that oddly enough, I have learned a lot through all of this.

Elizabeth, you taught me more than I could have ever dreamed. Starting on the simplest level, believe it or not, I learned loyalty from you. You inspire me to be honest in all my thoughts and actions, to be truthful and trustworthy, especially to you. However, the value that you taught me that I treasure the most, is forgiveness. Elizabeth, you forgave me, after I did the unthinkable. I committed a great sin, that led to nothing but more pain and hurt for you and our family. You still forgave me. For this I cannot thank you enough. Especially, since it also allowed me to be able to forgive myself.

If it was not for you, I would not have been able to forgive myself for all of my actions. You taught me how. Elizabeth, it was you who allowed me to do the right thing, and remain an honest man, while in doing so, uphold my dignity. I was able to die an honest man, and in my eyes for a noble cause. I would not have let myself do this if I did not learn how to forgive myself from you. I would have gone on living for the wrong reasons. I cannot thank you enough, or express to you how much you have enlightened me. I am sorry I had to leave you, but all I ask is for you to remember that I am always with you, and without you, I don’t know where I would have ended up, but it certainly not would have been here in heaven. Thank you Elizabeth.

Love,
John