One of his secretaries is quite emphatic that while Vetsera, whom he saw as a "somewhat superficial and emotional maid" who, while displaying "a vivacity and sparkle that would have done justice to a very bright Frenchwoman", was "a woman without serious thought" and was not the type of woman who usually appealed to the intellectually inclined Rudolf, although he acknowledged that Rudolf was interested in the political opinions of his other lovers to the extent that they were known to be reflections of what their male relatives thought. Rudolf's close friend, Professor Udel, further explained his master's "strange choice". He said that Vetsera shared a certain "mystic temperament" with the archduke, who could be "the most mystical of men" in that he displayed a "strong vein of superstition".