Page 286 - DENG403_BRITISH_DRAMA

British Drama

Notes Joan, of course, does recognize that La Hire is not the Dauphin, and she is quickly introduced to
Charles. They speak privately. Joan urges a reluctant Charles to accept his destiny: “[T]hou must
face what God puts on thee.” Charles is loath to engage his enemies in combat, for “one good treaty
is worth ten good fights.” Joan insists, however, that it cannot be France’s English invaders who are
allowed to set the terms of any treaties. Charles further protests that he does not want to be king.
Joan at last “tempts” him (Shaw’s word in the stage directions) by outlining for him her vision of a
united France at peace. Charles calls his court back into session and announces that he has given
command of his army to Joan-an announcement that sits well with neither La Trémouille nor De
Chartres.

23.3.2 Analysis

Scene II raises the question of how much Joan is actually commanding the situation around her,
and how much others are using her to advance their own agenda. As did Baudricourt and Polly in
Scene I, the character in this scene recognize that supporting Joan’s crusade is a pragmatic, common
sense decision. General Jack Dunois-the so-called “Bastard of Orleans” because he was the natural
son of Louis, Duke of Orleans, Charles’ father whom the Burgundians had assassinated-has been
unable to take his troops across the Loire River to attack the English because the wind has been
blowing against him; therefore, the characters ask, might not Joan, for all her talk of saints and
angels and visions, be able to do some good? The tone of Scene II, however, is quite different.
Whereas Polly seemingly expressed a genuine hope, the outlook expressed here is more marked by
cynicism and weariness. Consider, for instance, La Trémouille’s line: “Oh, let them have their way.
Dunois’ men will give up the town in spite of him if somebody does not put some fresh spunk into
them.” Also note how Archbishop de Chartres moves quickly from summary dismissal of Joan and
her claims to a posture of asserting ecclesiastical authority over her: “The Church must examine the
girl before anything is done about her.” La Trémouille and De Chartres’ conversation about Joan
and miracles, in fact, emphasizes the degree to which Joan is vulnerable to being manipulated by
others: the Archbishop views her as a potential “miracle,” not in any supernatural sense, but as “an
event which creates faith,” even if the supposedly “miraculous” aspects can be rationally accounted
for. Notice also how the Archbishop, who scoffed at the idea that Joan prophesied Foul Mouthed
Frank’s death, then makes a similar prophecy of his own regarding De Rais, invoking Joan’s authority
with the soldiers as his own. In these and other ways, Scene II dramatizes the claim Shaw made in
the preface: that Joan, for all her energy and positive action, was always at the mercy of institutional
and social forces larger than she understood.
Joan adopts an almost maternal attitude toward Charles in Scene II: she calls him the diminutive
and intimate “Charlie,” for example, and she calls him a “poor child” whom she will have to teach
to pray. Yet she also seems childlike, especially in her attitude of absolute and immediate subjection
toward De Chartres: “Oh, my lord, you have given me such strength, such courage. It must be a
most wonderful thing to be Archbishop.” This tension, too, dramatizes statements Shaw has made
about Joan in the preface, and illustrates the paradoxical nature of her character.

Illustrate the fact that Joan adopts an almost maternal attitude toward Charles in
scene II.

This scene reinforces the preface in a further manner. De Chartres recognizes that “a new spirit [is]
rising” in the age. “We are at the dawning of a wider epoch,” he states—an epoch, readers can infer,
in which rationalism will carry the day away from religion. As a result, the Archbishop acts with

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