, but absence, as we learnt earlier this week, is perhaps the most intense spectacle of all. That was a lesson made obvious when and failed to arrive at the : a legitimate—though not entirely unexpected—sabbatical for someone who has spent the past few years teasing spectators and journalists with an accretion of Rihanna in Manhattan.That the Met Gala’s unofficial princess had been rendered bed-bound for an event themed around “sleeping beauties” was an ironic and unfortunate twist of fate.