Joan of Arc Joan of Arc was a transvestite myst

To achieve so much while behaving in such an anomalous fashion seems contradictory. But, rather than being obstacles for her to overcome, Joan's behaviors were the specific means by which she was fitted for her historic role. Taken as a whole, the combination of visionary claims, transvestism, resolute virginity, intense piety, and Joan's own character gave her mission greater credibility than would have been the case if any of these elements were lacking. Her self-presentation attested, for some, to her disinterest and, for others, to the divine, and miraculous, nature of her mission. An analysis of the functions of gender in the ca

. . .
tion to them. They were regarded as being inherently unclean and repulsive. In Joan's case, one of her supporters, her groom Jean d'Aulon, reported that Joan had never experienced the "secret malady of women," i.e., had never menstruated (quoted in Gies 26). Though this claim was never substantiated, even at the retrial, it was widespread among Joan's supporters. Jean believed that he was doing Joan a favor by reporting that her body had not had the experiences of most women. The blood of menstruation was "a badge of lowliness and weakness" and denying Joan's menstruation helped, with her virginity, to place her above ordinary women (Warner 109). Her French supporters, accordingly saw Joan as "a dry, sealed vessel, a womb that had not undergone menarche" and had, therefore, escaped a basic uncleanness (Warner 105). But, the judges at her trial, desiring to demonstrate that she was unchaste, described her in terms of "wetness, rottenness, sickliness and blood" (Warner 105). They used the terms that were normally applied in misogynistic descriptions of the inherent bodiliness and weak sinfulness of women. Yet, as hard as they tried, the judges never succeeded in convincingly demonstrating that Joan was not a virgin. They
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Church--as Joan's, Church Scott, English Crane, Joan Arc, Charles VII, Joan's Bernard, Archangel Michael, Transvestism Crane, Communion Joan, Quoted Wood, joan arc, quoted crane, warner 105, joan's supporters, joan's virginity, joan's mission, divine mission, christine de, choice clothing, men's clothing, christine de pizan, divine mission claims, mission joan's rejection, quoted gies 35, lynn 152 joan,
Approximate Word count = 5172
Approximate Pages = 21 (250 words per page)

More Essays on Joan of Arc Joan of Arc was a transvestite myst