penrose was interested in female mysticism, eastern philosophy, western mysticism, alchemy and the occult. in egypt she met , knows as count galarza de santa clara, a master of the esoteric, and made several visits to his ashram in india. she studied sanskrit while in india. in 1936 she made an extended visit to india with the poet and painter alice paalen (later alice rahon). they become very close and their relationship is shown in their poetry from 1936 to about 1945. it is believed that the two had a relationship while in india based on the lesbian attributes present in their work at that time. after their trip in india, they didn’t see each other again.