Art, Symbol & Imagination
Sudden Fright
A diagonal succession of grey crescents turns a moment of fright into a sequence rather than a single emblem. In the explanation of figure 27, the earliest forms belong to fear, while the later reddish edges mark the beginning of anger as the startled person recovers. Repetition and changing colour make the image a diagram of the authors' proposed emotional transition, not a view of several physical objects. It belongs to their claimed clairvoyant account of thought and should not be mistaken for a photograph or an experimentally measured record of the nervous system.
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Citation
"Sudden Fright" [editorial title]. In Thought-Forms, Annie Besant and C. W. Leadbeater. 1905, Theosophical Publishing Society. Source scan leaf 36. Lumitheca. /gallery/image/art-thought-fright
Source details
Editorial title and description. Source details from the Library catalogue.
The complete figure is retained. The proposed temporal sequence comes from the authors' explanation, not an inference from shape alone.
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From the book
Thought-FormsAnnie Besant and C. W. Leadbeater1905More from this book
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Cite this illustration
Sudden Fright. Thought-Forms. Scan leaf 36. Lumitheca. https://lumitheca.com/gallery/image/art-thought-fright