Saint Joan

In Scene 2, the play establishes the cynicism and corruption of the French court, portraying the courtiers as scheming, petty, and more focused on their internal conflicts than the war with England. While the Dauphin should have authority over his noblemen, his debts and his childish personality mean that he is always submitting to the will of more powerful and influential courtiers. Before Joan arrives, the Dauphin and the Archbishop want to use her as political leverage, either to support Charles VII’s claim to royal blood or to increase the influence of the Church.

The Archbishop of Rheims represents the medieval Church as an institution led by politicians—men for whom religious belief was often a means to preserve their own power. In his conversation with the nobleman Trémouille, the Archbishop makes clear that he understands the relationship between faith and political power, saying, “[C]ould you make our citizens pay war taxes, or our soldiers sacrifice their lives, if they knew what is really happening instead of what seems to them to be happening?” (95). Trémouille answers that they could not, and the Archbishop claims that it is the same way with the Church, who must use “poetry” and deception to keep people obedient.

Notably, Shaw evokes the historical figure of Gilles de Rais, also called Bluebeard after the fairy tale about a nobleman who murders his wives, to hint at how the medieval Church used faith to persecute the disobedient. The real Gilles de Rais was convicted of raping and murdering numerous children, but later scholars questioned his guilt, raising the possibility that he may himself have been the victim of political persecution. In his character description of de Rais, Shaw appears to believe this latter version of events, claiming that “when he defies the Church some eleven years later he is accused of trying to extract pleasure from horrible cruelties, and hanged” (88). Similarly, when he laughs at Joan’s faith in the Archbishop, the Archbishop replies, “I prophesy now that you will be hanged in yours if you do not learn when to laugh and when to pray” (99). This interaction suggests that the Archbishop is making a threat, rather than truly receiving a vision of the future.

The Dauphin’s faith in Joan appears to be selfishly motivated. The trick he employs to test Joan is meant to confirm his royal lineage, which had been called into question. The Archbishop warns him, “[O]ne hardly recognizes in you the grandson of Charles the Wise” (90). Thus, the Dauphin wishes to have a saint certify his royal status by affiliating him with past kings. He allows a meeting with Joan despite Trémouille’s objections and states the following:

[M]y grandfather had a saint who used to float in the air when she was praying, and told him everything he wanted to know. My poor father had two saints, Marie de Maillé and the Gasque of Avignon. It is in our family; and I don’t care what you say: I will have my saint too (91).

When Joan arrives at his court, he is more interested in magic tricks than liberating France. He asks, “[C]an you tell me any secrets? Can you do any cures? Can you turn lead into gold, or anything of that sort?” to which she replies, “I can turn thee into a king, in Rheims Cathedral; and that is a miracle that will take some doing, it seems” (102). In the end, Joan persuades him to give her command of the army, but only by promising him greatness and power over his subjects, who have previously held sway over him by keeping him in debt.

Despite the cynical and selfish motivations of the courtiers, Joan’s presence brings out the best in them. Her warning to Foul Mouth Frank frightens La Hire and causes him to stop swearing. Her piety moves the Archbishop of Rheims. Even the Dauphin is inspired into action by her words. He is at first adamant: “I only want to be left alone to enjoy myself in my own way. I never asked to be a king: it was pushed on me” (100), but Joan eventually persuades him to take action. She identifies that he is reasonably intelligent and tells him “there is some good in thee, Charlie; but it is not yet a king’s good” (101). Through her honesty, conviction, and humility, Joan inspires the French court to try to rise above its current corrupt and irrelevant status.