Peggy Gordon suggests that the childlike innocence of clowns impacts the audience in a reciprocal way. A childlike performance moves them into a more profound state of vulnerable receptivity. That is, when they set aside their adult mindset and become more like innocent children themselves, they might be more readily transformed or uplifted by the content of the show. In her words, they might receive "spiritual sustenance that only their vulnerable receptivity would allow them to experience."
