Having reached the top after much fighting, she never feels as secure as a man would under similar circumstances. Her ego is steadily on the defensive and whatever interferes with her ego maximation appears to her dangerous and hateful. The female artist who marries a male artist will soon become jealous of him. Every bit of publicity he receives is something which he has stolen from her, which he should, she thinks, if he loved her enough, have renounced in her favor. The female artist who marries a man incapable of artistic achievement, may be violently attracted to him sexually. Her egotism, on the other hand, prompts her to disparage him and to scorn his judgment of her. However much he may admire her, his praise lacks weight in her estimation. He is not a member of the enchanted circle. A word from "one in the know", insignificant as he may be, will bring a smile to her lips, a flash of pleasure in her eyes, which will cut her mate to the quick. I have observed many a time an angry tension in the face of the business husband of some actress or singer when she would visibly gloat over the not too disinterested praise of some trashy professional. =Flattery.= The artist is at the mercy of the flattery lavished on him or her by a fellow artist and absolutely blind to the flatterer's ulterior motives. A great musician who died recently was an easy victim to every budding musician who would sycophantically sing his praises. The mere statement "if I could ever hope to sing a few notes like you" enabled any young exploiter who could approach him to negotiate a "loan." For the reasons I have mentioned in the preceding pages, the woman artist is even more easily victimised, financially or sentimentally than the male artist. Sexual jealousy wrecks the unions of artists with non-professional mates. Sexual jealousy and professional jealousy make the union of two artists a very problematical expedient for the attainment of happiness. Fortunately, very few heartbreaks result from the steady grinding of the divorce mills in concert land, opera land or stageland. The egotistical artist loves himself more than he could ever love any other human being. Separation from his life mate does not mean loneliness to him. He remains in his own company, to his mind, the best company on earth. And furthermore his egotism tells him, and rightly so in the majority of cases, that being as wonderful as he is, he cannot fail to meet soon "the great love" of his life. And he will probably embark upon another experiment with the same optimism and with the same results. CHAPTER XXIII THE PERSONALITY BEHIND THE FETISHES. GLANDS