Coco Chanel, Edith Piaf, and Joan of Arc walk into a bar...

I find it funny that of the three French women that we have now either read about or discussed at length in class (Coco Chanel, Edith Piaf, and Joan of Arc), I view Joan of Arc as the most relatable, and she is the furthest removed, time wise, from me.  I do not mean that I can relate to being that brave and having that strong of a connection with God, although I believe these are traits we should all aspire towards.  But personally, of the three although her accomplishments are the most remarkable, she remains the most down to Earth.

 Of course, our Bernard Shaw text is not necessarily historically accurate insofar as Joan of Arc’s personality, I love how she is portrayed as a funny, down to earth 19 year old.  Although she has a divine connection and operates on a level that most of us cannot relate to, Shaw depicts her as a simple, fun, common person.  For example, in scene III, page 93, immediately after Joan stands up to Dunois and exhibits traits characteristic of a very strong leader, the Page gets very excited about the wind, although Dunois thinks it’s because there is another kingfisher.  Under the impression that there is a kingfisher, Joan gets really excited and forgets that she was just talking about defeating the English and exclaims, “Oh, a kingfisher! Where?” (93).  To me this is such a human thing to do, express excitement over very small things, and I just can’t see Coco Chanel or Edith Piaf reacting the same way.  It seems that Chanel and Piaf are on a whole separate level of elegance that removes their ability to be relatable, but Joan of Arc rather flourishes in and embraces her human-ness.  She is by no means striving for elegance, and if Chanel, Piaf, and Joan of Arc were all standing in a room, I would feel the most comfortable approaching Joan of Arc.

Some of it comes back to what we talked about the first week of class, with how we should carry ourselves confidently and be poised, but there is the line of being confident and cocky.  I do not mean to imply Piaf and Chanel are full of themselves; rather, I want to comment on how Joan of Arc, at least as depicted by Shaw, treads this line perfectly.  She remains in control and well respected in order to accomplish God’s call for her, yet she does not act above anyone or treat people as her inferiors.  She leads them; she does not pull them, which today would be an extraordinary accomplishment but taking into account her circumstances is remarkable.