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Vienna IX, Berggasse 19
May 25, 1916
My dear Frau Lou
I cannot believe there is any danger of your misunderstanding any of our assertions; if so it must be our, in this case my, fault. After all, you are an “understander” par excellence; and in addition you invariably understand more and improve upon what is put before you. I am always especially impressed when I read your comment on one of my papers. I know that in writing I have to blind myself artificially in order to focus all the light on one dark spot, renouncing cohesion, harmony, edifying effects and everything which you call the symbolic element, frightened as I am by the experience that any such claim, such expectation, carries within it the danger of distorting the truth, even though it may embellish it. Then you come along and add what is missing, build upon it, putting what has been isolated back into its proper context. I cannot always follow you, for my eyes, adapted as they are to the dark, probably can't stand strong light or an extensive range of vision. But I haven't become so much of a mole as to be incapable of enjoying the suggestion of something brighter and more comprehensive, or even to deny its existence.
Your card, nevertheless, did bring me one minor disappointment.