And this effect is proportionate to the degree of coherence and continuity in the action.

In this way, there is a cumulative effect on the mind.

If the action is good, the illusion, as every play-goer knows, is most complete towards the end.
Were it not for all this mental preparation, the illusory character of the performance would be too patent to view, and our enjoyment would suffer.

A man is often aware of this when coming into a theatre during the progress of a piece before his mind accommodates itself to the meaning of the play.

And the same thing is recognizable in the fact that the frequenter of the theatre has his susceptibility to histrionic delusion increased by acquiring a habit of looking out for the meaning of the performance.