The Musician

The Musician, also known as the Wife, is the Painter's spouse, and the Daughter's mother.

According to newspaper clippings and other items, the Musician was in a department store when it caught fire. Though she survived the fire, she was left crippled and disfigured by the flames.

## History

Not much is known about her life before the marriage, aside from the fact that she was exceptionally talented as a musician. While critics at first saw her as an amateur, she became praised for her musical abilities. Her talents helped inspire the Painter to create, and became a crucial source for his talent. She got pregnant before they eventually married and moved into a mansion together.

Later in their marriage, she was in a department store when it caught fire and burned her severely, causing her to become permanently disfigured. Her painful recovery, along with the loss of her beauty and ability to play, led to further tensions in their household.

She was largely wheelchair-bound, and suffered from chronic pain and random muscle spasms. Despite the Painter's attempts to seek medical help that could restore his wife, the medical technology available was not enough to undo all of the fire's damage. He began to drink heavily, which was apparently an issue he had before during their relationship, as she expresses exasperation at this in a note ('not again').

The Musician was frustrated as she was unable to play her instruments. She would try to play them but ended up suffering immense pain and causing horrid sounds to come from them. The Painter would insist she rest, but she believed she wasn't herself without music, and tried to do so anyway. Eventually, she began to lash out at her husband. This caused them to have loud fights which lead to their neighbors telling them to quiet down, otherwise they would call the police. After that, the Painter began to avoid her, perhaps to avoid more loud fights. The Painter's neglect caused her to delve into herself and feel all the more isolated, and she assumed he was disgusted with her.

Due to these feelings, the Musician ended up treating the Painter in a hateful way, even going so far as to place scathing reviews attached to his paintings. She even set fire to the piece dedicated to her, titled "The Lady in Black." This is noteworthy as she became afraid of fire after the accident, so to face her fear by destroying the painting in this way is a testament to how far she would go to spite him at that point.

Also due to her fear of fire, the Painter would install electricity in the house. However, he soon found the lights "cold and merciless", and thus resorted to using fire again in places where he could, such as his office. She would be offended at this, asking if he 'hated her that much', to which he responded that he used it because he was freezing. The Musician would soon respond to his usage of fire by locking him in rooms to keep the fire far away from herself.

A note locked away in a chest in the 2023 game reveals that she was not only wishing the Painter would someday die, but she made a list of pros and cons over how best to actually kill him. She never followed through on this plan, however.

Instead, tired of the fights, her husband's negligence, and feeling like he cared more about his paintings than her, she committed suicide in the bathroom. This is made clear with the flashback heard when you pick up the Whispered Words object, a bloody knife, where we hear the Painter attempt to get into the bathroom (believing his wife is taking way too much time), and then entering to see her dead body. She chose to write two suicide notes before her death - one for her daughter, and one for her husband. The latter changes based on choices the player makes throughout the game.

The Musician's death is what propels the Painter to take drastic measures to get his career back on track. Using his wife's remains as artistic material, he attempts to "take back what life took from him".

    Apparently upon the wife's death there was a great deal of money that came from it, whether from an insurance policy or inheritance is left unknown. A newspaper clipping in the canon ending of the Final Note DLC tells us the Painter would rather starve than profit from her death, and so told the public to do whatever they wanted with the money so long as they left him alone.

This would lead to the creation of a foundation, which would in turn start a writing contest. The grand prize was the honor of writing a book about the Painter's life. In the end, this contest was won by the Writer.

## Trivia

* The Musician played the violin and piano. Thanks to the 2023 game, we learned that she also played the flute.
* The Musician suggested the couple get a cat before their daughter was born, but the Painter ultimately decided to bring home a dog. Why this decision was made is unknown. However, it seems that the daughter had a liking for cats as well, due to her love of her toy, Mr. Scooter.

* While the marriage fell apart after her accident, the marriage between the Painter and his wife was very happy beforehand.
* The wife and the daughter are both voiced by Kristen Lennox.
* The portraits of the protagonist's wife are made by Andrzej Dybowski

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/4BlyL
* Using the Musician's notes as a time frame, we can figure out that she was injured sometime in late September or early October, and judging by her final note, she committed suicide on October 2nd, the following year. This means she was suffering and fighting with the Painter for a year before she decided to take her life.

## Gallery

The Wife & Child Ending portraitThe Musician's portrait as depicted in the Loop ending.The Musician's portrait, distorted in the Loop ending.The Lady in Black portrait. The painter's tribute to his wife.The Musician's Ghost Form.The Painter's drawing of the Musician in Inheritance.