No, this isn't about Count Dracula or some other vampire with a stake driven through their heart to prevent them from performing their art. Reading the prompt, I can only think of one person, and that's Mathilda, who loves to be admired. She had a difficult start. Dumped by her mother when she was barely 14 weeks old, she was sent to an uncle. Raised by men, and as she herself says: "I can't miss something I never had." Is she callous? Those who know her don't think so, although she can answer the question for herself whether it's love or adoration. I think they're not that far apart. Adoration isn't necessarily so idolized that you're blind, but simply being drawn to someone, or perhaps crazy enough about someone, and why wouldn't you? Doesn't everyone have a reason or reasons for getting married? Let's pretend it's true love for everyone. When it comes down to it, everyone wants to be cared for, to have a partner in crime, to be someone to rely on, to have a home, to be seen and heard. Anyone who claims otherwise is lying. Love has many shades, more than the colors of the rainbow, and it can also seemingly disappear overnight, even if it was ever present.
Her life is often portrayed in a one-sided way. How many know that she had true friends and was open to others? How many know how intelligent and artistic she was? That she wasn't just an expensive housewife but a model, a painter, an artist, a living canvas, a go-getter, someone who was never ill, who worked in the early years to support her husband? It's the strong shoulders that bear the burden, and a stake through his art might have been a healthier solution than throwing him out the window.
