The official cause of Tchaikovsky's death—cholera from unboiled water—is often rejected in favor of suicide conspiracies. This reflects a cultural discomfort with a celebrated artist dying from a mundane disease, preferring a narrative that aligns with the romanticized image of a tortured genius.

Despite harsh laws, homosexuality in 19th-century Russia was often viewed as a personal taste rather than a defining identity. For wealthy, connected individuals like Tchaikovsky, this perception meant the risk of prosecution or public scandal was minimal, allowing for a relatively open secret life.

For middle-class Russians like Tchaikovsky, music was not a respectable profession. The primary path to social standing was a prestigious and hard-to-attain role as a civil servant, a career he pursued for years before his father encouraged him to switch to music.

Massive wealth imposes a hidden 'social debt'—a crushing weight of expectations that dictates how heirs must live, who they can marry, and what values they must hold. As the Vanderbilt family story shows, this can destroy independence and happiness, effectively making heirs prisoners of their fortune.

Contrary to common advice, high expectations aren't inherently bad for marriage. They create a bifurcation: couples who invest enough to meet these expectations achieve unprecedented levels of fulfillment, while those who can't are often unhappier than couples from past eras with lower expectations.

Historically, people lived in communities with extended kin networks that met various social and emotional needs. Today, with the rise of the nuclear family and social isolation, individuals expect their romantic partner to be their stable companion, passionate lover, and entire support system—an impossible set of demands for one person to meet.

Historically, marriage was a pragmatic institution for resource sharing, political alliances, and acquiring in-laws. The now-dominant concept of marrying for love and personal attraction is a relatively recent cultural development, primarily from the 18th and 19th centuries.

Psychologist Eli Finkel's "suffocation model" suggests contemporary couples expect their partners to provide not just love, but also personal growth and self-actualization—needs once met by an entire community. This overload of expectations can damage a relationship if not met with sufficient investment of time and energy.

The intense search for a career "calling" has become psychologically parallel to the search for a romantic soulmate. Both are driven by a "don't settle" mindset and create impossibly high expectations, often leading to disappointment and strained relationships when reality doesn't match the ideal.