Always a bridesmaid, never a bride

My name is Vivek and my piece is titled Always a Bridesmaid Never a Bride. This ten by thirteen shadow character was created using thin black micron pens on a white background to focus on the darkness of the character through eMDR therapy and processing my own thoughts as if I'm wandering the halls of an old Victorian home, I created her sadness wearing a jester like crown. Her face has been stripped down to nothing but a skull. Her right eye is completely blacked out, while her fractured left socket paws with black, as though she has cried so excessively that even her grief has become physical. Long black bangs obscure her face, and although she bows her head in defeat when you gaze at her, it is if you can see her sorrows. She wears a white wedding dress and clutches a bouquet of black dead flowers. Flowers that once represented life. Always a bridesmaid, never a bride. Represents pressure that society puts on women to get married, and that marriage ties you to a timeline. When you can't meet that expectation, you wallow in the feelings of dread, shame and unworthiness and let it eat at you until you deteriorate, withering away in the arms of the Grim Reaper instead of your Prince Charming as you so desire.