Rising Above Society's Expectations

To many, Saint Joan of Arc symbolizes women’s liberation. Her tale of heroism and resulting sainthood is told to school aged girls worldwide to reinforce the growing support behind the message of the potential power of women. Saint Joan cut her hair and put on armor to fulfill the gift bestowed on her by God in a man’s world.

Saint Joan of Arc is the patron Saint of my alma mater, Oakland Catholic, an all girls’ catholic high school in Pittsburgh. Back then, I did not feel a relation between her and me. The images displayed in our hallways depicted a masculine, intimidating warrior: seemingly suggesting a combative and extreme view of feminism on students.

Honestly, I did not know much about Saint Joan. The excerpts from Saint Joan by Bernard Shaw have shed more light on Saint Joan for me. The quote, “I might almost… have been a man. Pity I wasn’t; I should not have bothered you all so much then” supports the portrayal of Saint Joan as simply doing what she must to fulfill God’s will. Further support for this piety is seen in the movie The Passion of Joan of Arc, when a member of the court asked Saint Joan, “Why do you wear men’s clothing?” she responded, “When the mission God entrusted me with is over, I will again dress like a woman”. The time period in which Saint Joan was born limited her power due to her gender and cultural expectations of women. By taking on a masculine appearance and persona, Joan sought to close this gap; contrary to my assumption she was just macho and aggressive.

Saint Joan not only represents the resilience woman but also can be seen as an “emblem of human spirit” through her radical critique on the authority of her time. As Emma Watson highlighted in her address to the U.N. promoting the He for She organization, feminism is often miss associated with “man-hating”. True feminism supports equality of the sexes. Shaw’s depiction of Saint Joan is of “a person achieving her potential, not a destiny determined by gender”. Saint Joan helped to call attention to the problematic separation of men and women as two different entities, and should be a model of strength and courage for all.