# Persons, Figures and Events

The experiences of soul and spirit portrayed in this play are to be conceived as following, at about a year's interval, those delineated in ‘The Guardian of the Threshold.’

In connection with ‘The Soul's Awakening’ it is advisable again to draw attention to a point already made with reference to the preceding soul-pictures. Neither the events of soul and spirit nor the spiritual beings are intended to be mere symbols or allegories. Anyone interpreting them in this manner would quite misconceive the real being of the spiritual world. Even in the *mental experiences* which are shown (in the second, third, and tenth scenes) nothing merely symbolical is portrayed. They are genuine experiences of the soul, as real for a person who has access to the spirit world as are persons and events in the world of the senses. Such a person will find ‘The Awakening’ a thoroughly realistic soul-picture. Were the case one of mere symbolism or allegory, I should certainly have left these scenes unwritten.

In response to various questions, I had once more attempted to add a few ‘supplementary remarks’ in explanation of this ‘soul-picture’; but as on former occasions, I again suppress the attempt. I feel averse to adding material of this kind to a picture intended to speak for itself. Such abstract considerations have no part to play in the conception and working-out of the picture, and would only be a discordant element. The spiritual realities, here set forth, present themselves to the soul as convincingly as physical things present themselves to our bodily perception. Yet, as is natural, an unclouded spiritual vision views the beings and events shown in pictures painted by spiritual perception otherwise than the physical perceptions would behold the same beings and events. On the other hand, it must be said that the manner in which spiritual events array themselves before the perception of the soul determines alike the tendency and construction of such pictures.