On the topic of silence

Silence is a recurring theme in the novel Eva's Man. Which brings to mind the question: why do we choose to remain silent? One idea may be that we are afraid to speak. We are afraid of what consequences may befall us after we speak and that our words may cause harm, so we would rather be silent than be accountable. Another is that we truly don't know what to say. The words suddenly escape us (or were never there in the first place) and all that is left in our heads is total blank. But perhaps it is neither of these things. Maybe we aren't afraid. Maybe we really do know what to say. Maybe there is a kind of power in silence, in withholding the answers we have, knowing that it belongs only within ourselves. Perhaps there is a kind of greed in silence, a desire that we have for our words to be our own, never to exit our minds into the world.