Joan of Arc was a mystic who crossed gender and class lines to help achieve the military-political goals that, as she claimed, the voices of angels and saints had urged her to undertake. Despite her subsequent condemnation and execution, Joan remains one of the most fascinating figures in history because she accomplished so much, while defying most of the rules defining women's roles. The effects of her intervention were immediate and permanent. The siege of Orleans was raised, Charles VII was crowned king of France, the legitimacy of his line was accepted, and the notion of the French kings as rulers by divine right was firmly established. Then, within a few years of Joan's death, the English were finally driven out of France. These things were achieved by a peasant girl who was directed by visions to act as if she were a male aristocrat. 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 career of Joan of Arc will demonstrate how a young peasant woman could achieve everything she did.
The Political Importance of Joan's Self-Presentation
Joan of Arc's complexly gendered self-presentation defied traditional Medieval cultural expectations for women. The most important aspects of this presentation were her rejection of traditional female roles in favor of permanent virginity, which she saw as an aspect of her mission, her decision to wear mal...