Is Silence Golden?

 Silence  as  a  word  etymologically  is  derived  from  the  Middle  English:  from  Old  French,  from Latin  silentium,  from  silere  ‘be  silent’.

  Oxford  Advanced  Learners  Dictionary  8th  Edition  defines the  word  in  four  ways:   1.  A complete  lack  of  sound/noise 2.  A situation  where  nobody  is  speaking 3.  A  situation  in  which  somebody  refuses  to  talk  about  something  or  to  answer  questions and   4.  A situation  in  which  people  do  not  communicate  with  each  other  by  letter  or  phone.

From  the  2nd  to  the  4th  definitions  captures  the  line  of  thought  of  this  article.  When  one  is  in  these states, can it be seen as golden?

Zora  Neale  Hurston,  a  U.S.  writer  and  folklorist,  submission  that  ‘There  is  no  agony  like bearing  an  untold  story  inside  you’  sees  no  golden  moment  in  keeping  quiet  in  situations  one needs  to  speak  out.

Silence  here  breeds  agony  to  the  mind  and  wreaks  havoc  to  the  soul.  This  is because one’s opinion is not aired as at when it should.

This  bottleneck  might  result  to  unwise  and  violent  eruptions  that  might  come  when  one  who  is enduring  in  the  agony  of  silence  could  no  longer  carry  the  burden.  This  situation  is  captured  in the  Igbo  proverb  which  states:  Edikata  ihe  obi  agbawasia  (A  continuous  endurance  breaks  the heart).

Even  in  the  fictional  world  of  Purple  Hibiscus  by  Adichie,  the  silence  of  Mama,  Jaja  and Kambili  to  the  atrocities  perpetrated  Eugene  Achike  leads  to  Eugene  being  poisoned  by  his  wife, Mama,  when  she  could  no  longer  bear  his  high  handedness.  His  death  is  seen  by  the  family  as  a relief rather than a loss! So bad, I think?

Even  in  marriages,  I  have  heard  people  say  that  one  of  the  key  factors  to  divorce  is  silence  of  one of  the  spouses.  The  talking  spouse  takes  to  liberty  that  his  or  her  spouse  is  the  most  quiet  and understanding  one  as  he  or  she  accepts  and  bears  his/her  nuisances  without  raising  an  eyebrow. But  one  day,  the  accumulated  unexpressed  anger  will  erupt  and  there  won’t  be  any  going  back. Be  wary  of  silence!

 Speak  out  your  mind  when  necessary  as  Wole  Soyinka  puts  it:  ‘The  man  dies  in  all  who  keep silent in the face of tyranny.’ Are you dead or alive or dead living?

Good morning and have a Nice Day!