Blashphemous Joan

Doing research for my paper I came across an image of Joan in our, Joan of Arc: Her Image in France and America.  It is captioned, “’Joan as Minerva,’ frontispiece from Friedrich Schiller, Joan of Arc, or the Maid of Orleans” (Heimann and Cole 42).  Like the caption states it is Joan of Arc as Minerva the Roman goddess of wisdom, her Greek equivalent of Athena. 

I imagine, Joan would have been appalled by this image of her as a pagan goddess.  The thought of a Christian soldier being honored as a Roman goddess is quite idiotic no matter your religious affiliation.  Although Schiller was a successful writer, I cannot see how any successful writer would allow for the main character to be displayed as something that the character would have not approved of.  A writer’s purpose is to capture the moment, the mood, the authenticity of the moment, not distort it.

Schiller’s Joan does make sense from a purely analytical point of view; as Minerva was the Roman goddess of wisdom.  Joan of Arc was excellent at maneuvering troops and lifting sieges, the characteristics of a wise person.  And her wisdom did not come from any real schooling other than what her mother had taught her and from God’s words as well as her voices guidance. 

 

Was it appropriate for Schiller to allow Joan to be portrayed as something Joan would have probably disliked?

 

Works Cited:

Heimann, Nora and Coyle, Laura.  Joan of Arc: Her Image in France and America.  London, UK: D Giles Ltd, 2006.

The Different Viewpoints: Response to Barstow Article

     In the excerpt in the course packet written by Anne Llewellyn Barstow, she provides many examples throughout history of how Joan was an example or influenced them. It amazed me was the extremes that Joan has influenced. I understand how Joan influenced many of the feminist movements. Joan exceeded and went beyond was expected of her in the life time like the women in these movements are aspiring to. It did not surprise me. What did surprise me was some of the ends that Joan did inspire.
     One example was Isabel O'Reilly, who wrote a Roman Catholic treatise. What was interesting about this part was she had the main point of that a woman's place was in the home. She uses Joan as an example and admired many aspects of her life like her virginity and how she was able to spin. She claims that Joan can be the model for the traditional Catholic woman, despite the fact that Joan left the home. The reason Joan still qualifies was because she was commanded so by God. From my point of view, it is a long shot to claim Joan a model for Catholic women. Times change and there is a a significant time difference between Joan's lifetime and 1894 when O'Reilly wrote this. I do believe she is a great example, but naming a single model for Catholic women is impossible.
     On the other side of the extreme was the mention of the Ku Klux Klan. The women's order of the KKK wrote Joan, the Militant Kamelia. This claims that women in present day (then 1920) hear voices telling them to establish the supremacy of the white race. The claim was those voices were similar to the ones Joan heard to motivate her to liberate England from France. This surprised me because such an extremist organization associated themselves with a Saint like Joan. It seemed as if they used Joan to justify their actions and beliefs. I personally look at their actions and disagree with their train of thought in this one.
     My biggest take away was how Joan inspired many different groups. What surprised me the most was the certain groups that associated themselves with Joan and what they took away from Joan. Some of the examples made sense, but others raised a few questions for me. I enjoyed the reading in the sense that it provided an insight to me of how others reacted to Joan.

Who is Joan to women?

Anne Barstow's "She Gets Inside Your Head: Joan of Arc and Contemporary Women's Spirituality" uncovered many interesting truths about how women portray Joan of Arc as a trend-setter for women. In Anne's chapter, she asks contemporary women what Joan means to them. She shows how women have adopted Joan for women's rights movements, spiritual role models, redefining their place in the home, and showing courage.

Barstow begins by calling on the events of the Seneca Falls convention of 1848. At the convention Elizabeth Cady Stanton used Joan's mysticism to further her reformist faith. She is quoted by Barstow by saying "when all human power seemed unavailing, the French no longer despised the supernatural aid of the damsel of Domremy." She also applies Joan's strategies to reform-minded women by saying that women hear voices every day. She says these voices come from sorrow, degradation and despair. By applying Joan's actions to her own cause, she puts Joan down on their level. Her mind set was if Joan could do it so can we.

Conservative women also had their chance to apply Joan's image to their cause as well. According to conservative women, Joan was the model of the woman in the household. Barstow points out that this view is contradictory to Joan's life. Isabel O'Reilly praised Joan and explained that Joan was an exception to her dictum of a woman's place in the home. This was because Joan was commanded by God to enter public life. Barstow concluded that Joan was not a martyr in the eyes of women but a powerful visionary.

Barstow also discovers what Joan's voices mean to women as well. The survey revealed that few women mention her voices. When they did, they described the voices as a single voice from God and that Joan obeyed God despite the doubts and pressures from the outside world. This prompts some women to follow their own "inner voice" and to follow what they really believe.

I thought it was interesting that Barstow also included information about other women hearing voices just like Joan. One woman, a former Mormon explained that "Voices tell me what to write, give me no peace until I've done it and then more speak up." It is interesting that women that do hear voices of some kind try to make this connection to what they're experiencing to what Joan experienced. Other women explained that Joan showed how to be true to ones beliefs and provides an example of saying no to peer pressure.

Barstow's survey also uncovered some extreme beliefs about Joan of Arc and what their thoughts about her were. One woman rejected Joan's image and described it as "simpering, syrupy piety" and that she had an obligation towards martyrdom. Others thought that Joan's story made the Church look scary. Another even prayed to Joan at an altar and even meditating on a statue of Joan.

These cases reveal that Joan is wide open to interpretation. Women see Joan as a role model both spiritually and morally. Although interpretations vary greatly on what she was, she has proven to be a go-to source for women who need direction and are looking for answers. Barstow's survey also revealed that people choose what they want to see in Joan. Women look at Joan and focus on what they need help with. Although Joan has been looked at in every way possible, she continues to be a source for women to look up to and look for answers.

Work Cited

Barstow, Anne. "She Gets Inside Your Head: Joan Of Arc And Contemporary Women's Spirituality." In Coursepacket compiled by Dr. Woldbrink. Fall 2014.