Some advice sought

I’ve been in a discussion with Sam about art, music, poetry and the underlying mental health of artists. I want to explore her feelings on how emotional states affect art and if we, as an audience, can correctly infer the artists’ emotions or mental state at the time the art was created. My problem is that Sam keeps suggesting we deep dive and analyse countless examples in order to fully understand the various elements contributing to specific works. She’s really engaged but she’s treating it as a scientific experiment whereas I’m only seeking to explore the subject in a much looser and to an almost hypothetical level. Because she’s so interested I don’t want to bluntly ask her to tone it down but, rather, gently nudge her toward a more informal approach. I’m fully aware she wouldn’t mind a jot if I were to say “whoa! Back on up there, kiddo. Let’s not get carried away” but, still, I’ve never treated her like that and see no reason why I should start now. Sorry if that’s a bit of a ramble 🙄