Since I've already made one Frozen post, I'd thought
I'd stick to a theme. ABC's series Once Upon a Time has co-opted the Frozen
storyline in order to cash in on the hype surrounding the Disney movie,
which has resulted in some more Joan of Arc references. This new version picks
up where the Disney movie leaves off. Elsa is Queen and Anna is about to marry
Kristoff, but then Elsa reads her mother's journal and believes that their
parents left because of her. Anna doesn't think this is true and journeys to
the Enchanted Forest (where the rest of Once Upon a Time's fairytale
characters live) in order to prove her wrong. However, Anna doesn't want just
anyone to find out that she is a princess from another Kingdom, so she decides
to take the name of her favorite painting, Joan.
In my last Frozen post I compared Elsa to Joan, which
I think makes more sense than Anna being Joan. Anna isn't segregated from
society in any way, and she isn't shamed for supernatural abilities. Anna's
naivete borders on dangerous at times, while the nature and results of Joan's
mission, as well as the battles she had to fight along the way, made her more
skeptical and less trusting.
However, one thing that Anna and Joan do have in common is
their penchant to never give up. When a young Prince Charming is confronted
with an impossible obstacle to overcome, Anna is the one who convinces him to
not give up. She teaches him how to fight for his freedom despite the odds
against him (also can we acknowledge that Joan of Arc taught Prince Charming
how to sword-fight?). Joan was also presented with an impossible situation, but
she had faith in her voices and her purpose, and was able to accomplish the
impossible. She even refused to give up in small moments such as the during the
siege of Orleans. The rest of the army was retreating, but she stayed behind
with only a handful of men because she had faith that they would take the town that night. Jean d'Aulon reported that Joan said that "she was not alone, that she still had fifty thousand men in her company, and that she would not leave that spot until she had taken the town" (Pernoud 173). At this moment, Joan did not have any advantages over her enemies, and she only had a handful of men. However, her faith in her own ability to accomplish
the impossible led her to overcome the obstacles placed in front of her.
Sources: Pernoud, Regine. The Retrial of Joan of Arc: the Evidence for Her Vindication. San Fransisco: Ignatius Press, 2007.
Kelly!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great comparison; I’m also a fan of ABC’s series, Once Upon A Time. But what’s funny is that I did not catch the fake name and tied it with our beloved Joan. But yes that makes sense that she would chose the name of the warrior (Joan of arc) in her castle painting. But based on that series, I do believe Anna can be compared to Joan just because it’s a young girl off on a mission, by herself and she is determine to find out the truth about her parents and sister. And she does this, not for herself but for the love of others. Its a selfless move. Similar to our Joan, she is devoted and fearless of the unknown. And They both have the similarity that they always put themselves into dangerous situations.
I have this on DVR, so will check it out. Kelly, is she actually dressed and impersonating Joan?
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