dennis scharnberg

And who are these followers of Theosophy?  They are, each of them, people who expressed a weariness with regard to the existing culture (science, technology, material well-being, traditional institutions).  And each in his own way found in “the esoteric” an exciting escape from that world.  There is something tedious here—something inherently ridiculous.  But in the case of Blavatsky (or even that of Crowley), the ridiculous operates in such a theatrical way and with such persistence that it can be fascinating.

Lionel Peale,  The Veil of Isis.