It was not until his assassination in Dallas in November of 1963 that, when suddenly alone, her sense of drama became abundantly clear. Before an estimated 180,000,000 viewers her 'performance' throughout the funeral of the century was superlative. Stoicism seemed to percolate through the opacity of the black veil which concealed her tears from a widowed world. Mourning became this American Electra. The Holy Family Gore Vidal solidified Jackie's trajectory of mythologization in the reified moulds of Isis, Aphrodite and the Madonna.
Tragedy stalks the demi-god.
Following the assassination of Bobby Kennedy at the Californian Primary of 1968 Jackie seemed to tire of her exalted role in American mythology. To the horror of all, the icon had descended, expressed her displeasure to the congregation, and gone on a spending spree with an unattractive and arguably more common man than any produced by the Kennedys. Many commentators have regarded the flight to Greece as something of a fall from grace. Thus Mrs Kennedy became Jackie O, Queen of the Jet Set , proclaiming a shift in the production of previous desires. Having been freed from the shackles of saintliness, she became, absolutely, famous.