Dead Clown
In it's strange way this is derived from Shakespeare's "Hamlet." I like the famous scene where Hamlet finds the skull of Yorich, who had been a clown who used to entertain him. The scene seems to me to encapsulate the overall mood of Hamlet, which is that he has lost all joy. I'd gotten used to being pessimistic myself around this time, which might account for why I ever sat around thinking of all of that anyway. But the idea of the dead clown to me was a representation of all of the joy being drained from a situation. The child standing at his feet as if she expects a show gives context to some expectation of happiness that just isn't going to be met.