She's not happy about the life she is living but to jump through the hoop would mean to succumb to death.

The hoop is there to remind us not to jump through it, not to submit to someone else's control.

The dog, the rabbit and the hoop all feature in the painting, and take the place of the orrery.

Today she is the lady of death, which I believe is the best muse to have.

I'm lazy but generally task oriented so having a hoop to jump through means eventually I'll make the effort.

As I was working I noticed that the way I designed the differential gearing actually created a spare drive that sat directly below the emperor's feet, or where they would be if he were to sit in the chariot.