“Silence has many advantages. When you do not speak, other people presume you to be deaf or feeble-minded and promptly make a show of their own limitations.”
People are more at ease and loose of tongue when they believe that their secrets are safe from the people around them. Many will through their secrets around if they believe they will fall upon deaf ears or those of a trusted friend. Many times these people are in fact good friends or unable to transmit said secrets but some use humanities need to find someone to confide in to gain power over the other person.
Humans have a conscious for a reason, it is what defines us and separates us from wild creatures. It is what tells us that one can't murder our neighbor and steal his house. But it can also be a weakness. If one does something that humanity believes is evil, his conscious will instill a feeling of guilt and pressure him to tell the truth to his fellow man so they know that he is a bad man. Though everyone has this instinct, most ignore it unless they know that they are safe from the repercussions of their individual crimes, "Give a man a mask, and he will tell the truth." That is why man confess to those who cannot betray them to those who could harm them, such as priests, or good friends, or even the mute or deaf. Each of these has its advantages, but they all have their risks. Not everything is as it seems, and as much as it is human nature to tell others of past crimes, it is human nature to use another past crimes to gain power over them. Any of these positions can be faked but none so easy as those who are mute or deaf because people assume that those who do no respond are either deaf or mute. Adah uses this veil of silence to convince those around her that she is the one to tell her secrets to. This gives her immense power over those around her that she can use when she needs and however she needs. Silence also gives the "mute" power over others because they do not know anything about that person that could be used against her.
A man will never be as truthful as when he believes that he will not be judged for his past or his opinions by those around him. But not every mask is true and man uses others preconceptions to gain knowledge, and knowledge is the ultimate form of power.
