Reading Diary B: Dhritarashtra's Legacy

I think it is odd and also kind of awesome at the way Dhritarashtra was described leaving the city. My impression of the king the entire time I was reading this book was that he was a fool. He used being blind in order to excuse indulging his son and making weak decisions. Everyone told him that his son was evil, and would destroy their race, but he would not stop him. Even the queen, his wife, told him how evil their son was, how he cried and it sounded like a jackal when he was a baby. So I never really had a lot of respect for Dhritarashtra. He let his son kill all of his sons, all his friends, millions of his subjects. While he was king! He could have said one word, and his son would have stopped. He could have said one word and had his son killed! Yet when he leaves to die in the woods, the Pandava brothers treat him as respectfully as they can, as a father. Their mother accompanies the king and his wife in the forest. All these signs are bestowed on a man who in my opinion does not deserve it. Yet it is obvious the king has a kind heart. Maybe that is what the Pandava's are seeing.

 Dhritarashtra, Kunti, and Gandhari depart
Image Source