Maeterlinck creates tension by contrasting the anxiety of the characters in the garden with the serenity and ignorance of the family within the house.

[2] Maeterlinck, an avid reader of Arthur Schopenhauer, believed that man was ultimately powerless against the forces of fate.

Believing that any actor, due to the limitations of his physical mannerisms and expressions, was unable to portray the symbolic figures of his plays, Maeterlinck decided that marionettes were an excellent alternative.

Being guided by strings, which are operated by a puppeteer, marionettes are an excellent representation of fate's complete control over man.

"[4] Three small plays for marionettes by Maurice Maeterlinck, La Mort de Tintagiles, Intérieur and Alladine et Palomides, were made into an opera entitled Le Silence des ombres by Benjamin Attahir premiered at La Monnaie in Brussels in September 2019.