When Audre Lorde wrote The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action* she was very ill and had accepted death as much as one can.  Jane Eyre through the treatment of her adopted family had often pondered and occasionally even wished for death.  Lorde in her article explains that most peoples silence stems from fear of death, and once you no longer fear death it is a lot easier to stand up for what is right or what you believe in.  There are many examples of Jane acting out in the book but one of the first and most necessary comes when she stands up to her caretaker Mrs.Reed for the years of abuse and miss treatment.  Jane right before he stands up for her self thinks “Speak I must” and this is exactly how Lorde feels (Bronte 38).  “…if any one asks me how I liked you, and how you treated me, I will say the very thought of you makes me sick, and that you treated me with miserable cruelty.” (Bronte 39)  Lorde states in her article that death is the ultimate silence, so by speaking out one may experience the purest form of living.