In “The Transformation of Silence into Action”, Lorde writes, “But most of all, I think, we fear the visibility without which we cannot truly live.” (42) I think this paradox remains Jane Eyre’s internal struggle throughout the novel. She considers herself plain, undeserving of attention and love, seen by her depiction of how she would paint herself in contrast to how she would paint Miss Ingram. She refers to her portrait as “disconnected, poor, and plain” (Bronte, 238) and refers to herself as “indigent an insignificant plebeian” (239) When Mr. Rochestor compliments Jane earlier in this chapter [16], she convinces herself that it is shameful to consider anything of such remarks. At the same time, Jane was not “satisfied with tranquility,” she craved action. She believes “it is narrow-minded in their more privileged fellow-creatures to say that [women] ought to confine themselves to making pudding and knitting stocking… it is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them if they seek to do more, or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex.” (Bronte, 161) Throughout her stay at Thornfield, Jane has these rebellious feelings spurring inside of her, but she represses them to please Mr. Rochestor. Lorde writes, “For we have been socialized to respect fear more than our own needs for language and definition, and while we wait in silence for that final luxury of fearlessness, the weight of that silence will choke us.” (44) Jane’s society as well as Jane’s less than fortunate environment has socialized women, especially herself to respect fear, to repress her need to speak out. She wants to tell Mr. Rochestor her true feelings for him, but she knows that wouldn’t be “lady-like,” she feels ashamed and uses her own insecurities about her looks to lower her feeling of self-worth in comparison to women she has not yet met.