Music Against the Night

In February of 1837 and 1860, a woman named Adelaide received a letter from her son, Adrien, informing her of his father's death. The letter arrived a day after the unfortunate event took place. Adrien's father, John, had long since passed away, and Adelaide, his wife of many years, had not been present at his deathbed or funeral.

She had been banished from their marriage for decades and received no invitation to the funeral. Adrien's letter expressed regret for being the bearer of this news, but it contained no mention of a funeral, leaving Adelaide to ponder her actions.

Despite her position as the wife of John, a man she had chosen to follow with a fervent admiration, Adelaide felt insulted by the dismissal of her musical talents. John had never required a woman to possess any musical gift for her to be his companion, viewing her more as a mere prop in the ménage à trois they had formed. Adelaide had been accumulating mourning and half-mourning costumes, believing herself to be the widow of a true genius.

She had no intention of allowing herself to be publicly humiliated by attending a funeral without her presence.

As she greeted a visitor named Nicholas Yakovlev, Adelaide feigned indifference, all the while preparing for her role as the widow of a man she had once idolized. The visitors, mostly women of Moscow society, were eager to pay their respects and honor the memory of John, who had been the subject of gossip and speculation. Adelaide, a widow by circumstance and choice, would attend the funeral, her presence a necessary formality in the life of a woman who had once been the wife of a great man.