Saint Joan

Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan is split into six scenes, five of which the title character is featured. In each scene, the development of Joan’s character is highlighted by Anne-Marie Duff’s acting, the costuming, the reaction she receives when amongst her peers, and her response to the voices she hears. At the Castle of Vaucouleurs, in February 1429, an enthusiastic Joan triumphs over the hardhearted Robert de Baudricourt, convincing him to allow her to travel with three others to Touraine. Duff’s interpretation of the youthful Joan is convincing; she has a spark in her that is separate from the spark she gets from God. I paid particular attention to how the older actress played a seventeen-year-old, and I must admit that while I wish she had been younger, Duff made me believe. There really was not a build up of her character. From the beginning, Joan is energetic and confident and compelling. Dressed in a maroon dress, it is apparent that she is still Joan of Domrémy, not yet the heroine of France. It is easy to see the opposing sides—her supporters and her challengers—reflected by Bertrand de Poulengey and de Baudricourt, respectively. The former saw the faith Joan had; whereas the latter was more convinced in de Poulengey’s faith in the maid than his own faith in her.

When Joan reaches Chinon, in Touraine, she convinces the Dauphin to give her control of the troops. It is at this point when the Archbishop of Rheims comments on how “she is in love with God.” She has changed into a gray military uniform of sorts. Joan, who now wears the clothing of men, has hardened a bit, but she remains steadfast. By the time she gets to Orléans in April of 1429, she is told that she is “in love with war.” After a mere month from her time spent in Chinon, she has grown up quite a bit, still fervent as ever. She convinces the soldiers of her authority with the change in the winds.

It is after the interval that we see Joan change. The first scene following intermission was the one where Joan was in the Cathedral of Rheims. She crowned the king and then began to speak about taking Paris. Many of her supporters did not want to back her in such an endeavor. The voices had told her to fight so that Charles would be crowned within this cathedral with the oils and robes and such. While a bit of the details were sort of unclear to me, I could already tell that the opposition from Charles was a bad sign. In the first half, he had been the comic relief factor and willing to support her. Joan was becoming more obsessive with the fight, which no one seemed too fond of.

In the final scene, at her trial in Rouen of May 1431, Joan has become a scared little child, stripped of her armor. Delusional rocking, contracting, and muttering were Duff’s physical actions. Duff wonderfully showed the change in Joan’s sanity. However, I did not get the impression that the play argued her craziness. Instead, I like to think that the purpose of Saint Joan was to highlight the obstacles Joan has had to face, namely the Church, her countrymen, and the fact that she was a woman.