Lorde’s,’The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action’ and ‘The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House’ relate greatly to Jane Eyre’s oppression and resistance throughout the story. Jane is outspoken and stands up for herself even when she’s being told that it is wrong for her to do so. It is reemphasized to Jane that voicing her thoughts is not appropriate for a female especially a young one and someone considered to be lower class. Lorde is a black lesbian feminist who has been oppressed for her gender, sexuality and race. She states that, “As women, we have been taught either to ignore our differences, or to view them as causes for separation and suspicion rather than as forces for change.” This is the exact thing that happens to Jane. She is constantly told not to talk against what she is being told. One scene in particular that really stands out to me is in the beginning of the book when Jane has a confrontation with John Reed. Initially Jane doesn’t say anything back to John, she just takes it because she’s used to John’s abuse as it is a common thing. John then starts beating on Jane. John draws blood from her and anger takes over Jane and she starts yelling back at him. John calls out for his mom and the staff. Instead of the adults helping Jane she was reprimanded and locked into a separate room because females aren’t supposed to stand up for themselves. Lorde talks a lot about not keeping silent because silent moments were the one she regretted the most and Jane’s character relates to that as opposed to Helen Burns, Jane’s friend, who for the majority of the time stays silent against her oppressors. Jane is constantly her oppressors and breaking her silence.

In the first twelve chapters of Jane Eyre, the main character Jane is faced with oppression and resistance without any words spoken. Audre Lorde’s analysis from The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action greatly explains Jane’s inner self, “What are the words you do not yet have? What do you need to say? What are the tyrannies you swallow day by day and at, tempt to make your own, until you will sicken and die of them, still in silence? Perhaps for some of you here today, I am the face of one of your fears.” from these lines it connects to the exact words I’d imagine Jane had in her mind as she was locked in the red room. The silence she overcame, all the words she’d bottled up every time she was accused of a false accusation. The scene on page 30 where Jane overcomes the silence and oppression her aunt had placed her in. “I am glad you are no relation of mine: I will never call you aunt again so long as I live. I will never come to see you when I am grown up” After assuring of her departure, she bluntly expressed her powerful thoughts and she also threatens to tell everyone the cruelties she faced. As in Lorde’s writings, she strongly encourages women specifically to speak up, to turn silence into action, overcoming the fear because that is the way to survive and to grow. The resistance and oppression Jane faced were not only based on her class but also her gender. Audre Lorde speaks of gender inequality in The Master’s Tool Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House. This relates to Jane’s experiences with oppression at Lowood and from Lorde’s message, the only one that can save her is herself, by speaking up and acknowledging the possibilities there are.

Both of Audre Lorde’s pieces The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action and The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House convey a very strong message of speaking out against the oppression and your oppressor no matter the consequences.  This same idea is seen on page 35 of Jane Eyre when Jane retaliates towards Mrs. Reed after the meeting with Mr. Brocklehurst where Mrs. Reed explains that Jane is a deceitful child and must be watched closely and at all times.  On page 2 of Lorde’s The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House, she explains that women who “still define the master’s house as their only source of support” are the one’s who fear the consequences of standing up for one self which is what Jane Eyre feels in most situations where she feels like retaliating.  She reminds herself that she would have no other place to live and that this living situation is better than no living situation however on page 35, that second thought goes away and she more closely relates to what Lorde’s daughter says in The Transformation of Silence,” if you don’t speak it out one day it will just up and punch you in the mouth from outside”.  This urge just burst from Jane’s mouth declares her dislike for Mrs. Reed and the fact that she is unhappy with the fact that she had called her deceitful.  After Jane was done, she explains that her “soul began to expand, to exult, with the strangest sense of freedom, of freedom, [that she] ever felt”.  This feeling is closely related to what Lorde is urging her readers/listeners to feel, the “source of power within [oneself]”.  I think that Audre Lorde would be proud of Jane Eyre in this specific scene.

The scene in which Jane speaks out against John Reed in the beginning of the novel perfectly exemplifies the concept of liberation Audre Lorde articulated in her article, “The Transformation of Silence Into Action.” Jane, who has been hesitant to speak out against the bullying and verbal abuse that is afflicted onto her by her own family, finally musters up the courage to push her fears aside and put John Reed in his place after he physically abuses her. Jane eloquently expresses her frustration with her treatment in the Reed household with words, stunning almost every elder in the house with her expansive vocabulary and concoction of historical metaphors, comparing John Reed to a cruel Roman Emperor.  In this moment, Jane basically frees herself from the oppression of the Reed household and proves her intelligence, poise and nature to her oppressors. In a way, the Reeds recognize that Jane is a threat after this encounter,  and for this reason they react in the cruel and rash way they do. Jane’s character develops from a little girl who is constantly being pushed around and passive, to an intelligent young woman who is unafraid to speak her mind, challenge authority, and defy social and gender norms in a very progressive manner for her time period. Jane recognized the fact that in order to live a completely free life, one must not be apologetic for who they are, nor make excuses for your silence when it impedes your ability to seek fairness and equality.

For most of Jane Eyre’s childhood, she has endured much oppressive and submissive treatment from the Reed household without resistance. Then comes the pivotal moment when she musters up the courage to speak out against her aunt. “SPEAK I must: I had been trodden on severely, and MUST turn: but how? What strength had I to dart retaliation at my antagonist? I gathered my energies and launched them in this blunt sentence…” (Bronte 35) To understand Jane’s actions we can look at two works from Audre Lorde: The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action and The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House.

In Lorde’s The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action, she states that “if you keep ignoring the part of you that wants to speak out, it gets hotter and hotter and one day it will just up and punch you in the mouth from the inside.” (Lorde 42) Jane has been containing much of her anger within herself until it reached its cap. The cap finally broke when she remembers the promise that her late Uncle Reed forced her aunt to make which was to treat Jane like her own child. Realizing her aunt had broken this promise, Jane finally had the confidence to go against her aunt knowing that her own uncle was supporting her. Lorde also states that “My silences had not protected me. Your silence will not protect you.” (Lorde 41) After all these years of abuse, Jane realizes that this unethical treatment isn’t going to end anytime soon if she remains silent. To stay silent is to accept the belittlement and inferior status placed upon Jane by her aunt. By lashing out, Jane is able to criticize her tyrannical aunt’s wrongdoings and more important validate her own status as an equal human being.

In The Master’s Tool Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House, Lorde states “Those of us who stand outside the circle of this society’s definition of acceptable women; those of us who have been forged in the crucibles of difference — those of us who are poor, who are lesbians, who are Black, who are older — know that survival is not an academic skill.” (Lorde 2) The essence of Jane’s mistreatment was due to that fact that she was a poor orphan who was placed under the care of her aunt. In the Reed household, Jane was viewed as inferior and a burden due to her social status. However, Jane affirms to Mrs. Reed that she too is human. “You think I have no feelings, and that I can do without one bit of love or kindness; but I cannot live so: and you have no pity.” (Bronte 35)

Lorde’s analysis could not be better more explained than through Jane Eyre. According to Lorde, “the transformation of silence into language and action is an act of self-revelation.” (42) Through the act of speaking, we become vulnerable to others because we speak out our inner thoughts. Although we may fear when our ideas are made public, we must with every attempt reveal and speak the truths for which we can then “bridge our differences” (41). Through the first twelve chapters, we see Jane’s actions transition from silence to action. Jane has lived  most of her life oppressed under the household of Mrs. Reed. She is physically and emotionally berated by practically everyone especially by her cousin, John. A young child should be nurtured by her loved ones. Instead, she is given no intimate parental love and feels more like a burden and an outsider. Although she may reply back to her aunt with a few cheeky remarks, most of the time, Jane is silent. She knows that if she were to defend her stance, she would be the only one to face punishment.

Even when she left the Reed household, she still encountered people that judged her character while treating her unfairly. Master of the Lowood charity school, Mr. Brocklehurst, did not think twice but fully trusted Mrs. Reed when she told him that Jane likes to lie. Trusting every word of the accusation, he announced it to the entire school that Jane is a liar. It was that moment that Jane began to resist. Jane was no longer silent. She refused to be accused of something that she is not. Thus, Jane refuted the accusation and was eventually able to prove her innocence.

Her friend at Lowood, Helen Burns can also be an example of Jane’s resistance towards Helen’s ideology of cruel behavior. Helen Burns submits to to the harsh behavior from one of the teachers. Jane is bewildered to see that Helen accepts the punishment and stays silent. Jane questions why Helen endures the cruelty. After Helen explains her reasoning, Jane says, “And if I were in your place I should dislike her; I should resist her.” (101) “I must dislike those who, whatever I do to please them, persist in disliking me; I must resist those who punish me unjustly.” (105) Through the first few chapters, we can clearly see that Jane is assertive and strong willed. She shows no tolerance for cruel behavior, and would choose to speak up then to submit to silence especially when she is treated unfairly.

Jane is introduced in the book as an orphan who is taken under the care of Mrs. Reed. Clearly it seems as if the act of bringing an orphan to live with you in your home seems like a honorable act, but there is nothing honorable about Mrs. Reed. Jane is often tormented and physically abused by Mrs. Reed’s son, John Reed, who gets away with abusing his step sister since John is Mrs. Reed’s own kin while Jane is an outsider to this family. Along with the cruelty expressed through the character of her step brother, her guardian herself also puts Jane up to mental abuse by keeping Jane in a room where her husband, Mr. Reed had passed away. This causes Jane, who is also just a child, to hallucinate and imagine Mr. Reed’s ghost in the room with her, she begs to be let out but all attempts to escape fail since Mrs. Reed isn’t a very understanding woman. She believes that punishing Jane is her idea of discipline although Jane does nothing to deserve this type of treatment. Everyday in the Reed household is a challenge against oppression for Jane. Jane realizes that living this way will not help her, she needs to use the greatest power that she possess, her voice. I believe that in the beginning of the book Jane longed for companionship or a family. She never got the simple pleasures of having someone to look after her. Throughout the book the changes in Jane’s attitude begin to show, she is no longer in need for someone to help her out of her situations since she is learning to find herself instead of finding dependency. Jane learns that her voice is more important that she gives credit for and find the significance in standing up for herself and justifies her actions. This attitude will help her throughout the time she spends at Lowood.

Jane Eyre was born into oppression and cruelty despite the fact that she lived under the household of a very wealthy family of the Gateshead’s. Mrs. Reed had abused her mentally by locking her up in the ‘Red Room’  where Mr. Reed had passed away and the ghost of him haunted Jane. She was physically abused by Mrs. Reeds son, John Reed, and Mrs. Reed never paid mind to that. And after all the injustice Mrs. Reed labeled Jane a liar to Mr. Brocklehurst, who is the supervisor of the school Jane was sent to. Jane had faced much unfairness and although it wasn’t sufficient enough to keep her mood to a happy state, she did receive a source of understanding and kindness in some cases like when Ms. Bessie had explained her relation with Jane after Jane had revolted against Mrs. Reeds’ accusations of her being a liar (Page 48-49). Another time Jane was nurtured with benevolence was when she was humiliated in front of her whole school by being called a liar again but this time by Mr. Brocklehurst. In this case Helen had showed much care for her oppression and tried to make Jane feel better about her situation (Page 81-83).

Audre Lorde depicts the oppression of the female race and in her writing “The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House” she states that “For women, the need and desire to nurture each other is not pathological but redemptive, and it is within that knowledge that our real power I rediscovered”. With the connection of women joining together to help and sympathize one another so that there can be a stronger force to fight the wrongful acts towards the abused is displayed well in Jane Eyre because as Jane is nurtured by others it helps her rise back again to resist the evil and errors she faces.    

Growing up in the Reed’s house Jane Eyre faced oppression and resistance towards any act that she preformed. The reasoning behind this? Something Jane couldn’t control, her bloodline. Thus Jane followed what most women in her position do, silence. She viewed silence as a way to avoid further consequences without realizing how inadequate it was towards her situation. In many situations she continued to follow her way of silence however, it was the moment that she stood up that she finally understood the true power in her voice.

The scene where Mr. Brocklehurst humiliated Jane resulted in one of Jane’s largest accomplishment, her ability to speak out. Shortly after Mr. Brocklehurst humiliated Jane, Miss Temple asked Jane about her childhood. At this moment Jane was given the option to either speak out or stay silent. By choosing to speak out she was not only able to clear her name with Miss Temple but was able to finally feel free. This allowed her to draw strength and to excel further in her life. She was no longer burdened with all the things the Reeds and Mr. Brocklehurst had told the school, she was able to seen as who she truly is.

InThe Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House by Audre Lorde, Lorde states that; “It is in the knowledge of the genuine conditions of our lives that we must draw our strength to live and our reasons for acting.” This quote accurately dictates how Jane was able to to draw strength from her conditions of life and apply it to further benefit herself.

In my view, it’s necessary and important that you say something to express yourself. If you do not speak out to express your ideas and your feelings, others can’t understand your opinion. Jane chose to speak out her thinking to show her oppression and resistance.  In Lorde’s analysis, “Tell them about how you’re never really a whole person if you remain silent, because there’s always that one little piece inside you that wants to be spoken out, and if you keep ignoring it, it gets madder and madder and hotter and hotter, and if you don’t speak it out one day I will just up and punch you in the mouth from the inside.”(Lorde 42) There is a scene in Chapter 4, Mrs. Reed mandated Jane to go out of the room and return to the nursery after the talking with Mr. Brocklehurst. There is a direct description of Jane’s oppression and resistance in this scene. “Speak I must; I had been trodden on severely, and must turn: but how? What strength had I to dart retaliation at my antagonist? I gathered my energies and launched them in this blunt sentence: — ‘I am not deceitful: if I were, I should say I loved you; but I declare I do not love you: I dislike you the worst of anybody in the world except John Reed; and this book about the liar, you may give to your girl, Georgiana, for it is she who tells lies, and not I.’ ” (Bronte) This paragraph describes that Jane decide to resist and speak it out her oppression. Jane thought that she had been trodden on severely, so she broke out to show her oppression and resistance. Therefore, Lorde’s analysis is helpful to explaining Jane’s oppression and resistance.