Why do we leave the theatre with a feeling of fulfilment after attending a tragedy? . Between advancing a step further and living through tragedy there is a link. […] The soul needs to form an organ so that it can bear suffering. Like the eye was formed by light, the ear by sound, suffering and pain likewise form spiritual organs. […] The human being progresses to a higher stage through suffering.
Source (German): Rudolf Steiner – GA 97 – Das christliche Mysterium – Stuttgart, 19 January 1907 (page 95-96)
Translated by Nesta Carsten-Krüger
