The Shadow of Camelot

"At heart, Onassis did not hate Jackie. In his drunken states he would take out his frustration and rage on her, not just for what had happened but for what could never happen. He wanted her to be his Greek wife, at his beck and call as Callas had been. He resented her devotion to her children to the exclusion of his own wishes. He resented her Kennedy life, the constant reminders of her first husband, the anniversaries and the memorials; even, perhaps, while drinking pink champagne late at night with close women friends on Christina that she would go over the assassination, again and again, making that arcing gesture to describe the trajectory of a piece of Jack's skull." 
- America's Queen: The Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (Sarah Bradford)

If Jackie had Maria to contend with, then Ari had Jack, and neither were easy to get rid of, the shadows they cast were too great. Jack might have been dead, but reminders of him where everywhere, not just in the memorials, the anniversaries, the memories. There was the surname for a start. Jackie might have become Jacqueline Onassis legally, but she was still called "Kennedy-Onassis", a constant reminder that she would still be another mans, and belong to another life. The Queen may have stepped down from her pedestal, but she hadn't abdicated her throne. In the public consciousness, she was "The Presidents Widow", not "Onassis's wife". Her nickname, "Jackie O" sounded more whimsical, a pet name, a joke. No one had ever referred to her as "Jackie K" when married to Jack. Her children were still "Kennedy". Ari therefore was not only competing against the ghost he was sharing his wife with, he was also competing against not just an image, but an icon. There was Jack Kennedy, suntanned, blue eyed, athletic, handsome. Forever etched into the collective memory as still handsome at forty-six, and giving every indication he would continue to do so as he aged. But he would never age. He would never lose that virility and vibrancy. Onassis on the other hand was nearing seventy. The contrast between President Kennedy and his glamorous young wife, and the Greek tycoon and his glamorous young wife was glaring.