“Yet this saccharine image of feminine perfection is as misleading as it is simplistic. Jane was neither silent nor a cipher. She was politically motivated enough to push those issues in which she had a real interest – religious change, the status of the King’s eldest daughter, Mary – and astute enough to know when to back down. Indeed, her very silence on certain political matters was a choice designed to ensure she could not be attacked for the outspokenness that had tainted Anne Boleyn. Nonetheless, Jane was also not as secure in her position as her posthumous reputation would have us believe. Despite her coronation being planned, it never took place, and the King’s eye wandered during her reign just as it had under Catherine and Anne. The fact that her fundamental duty – getting pregnant – was not fulfilled for eight months also made her vulnerable.”
— Lauren Johnson, Bound to Obey and Serve?