Joan of Arc was born 600 years ago today -- perhaps. The year, 1412, and the month are fairly certain, the day is not, but it is the one generally recognized.
I have been fascinated by Joan of Arc since I was a kid, reading everything (in English) I could get my hands on. It was definitely hero worship, for as young teens, Joan and I shared a common feminism that was personal rather than general. We both rebelled against the traditional female lot in life.
Although it was perfectly impossible for a teen-aged girl to become a soldier, that's exactly what Joan of Arc wanted to do. And not just any soldier, but a leader, a general, a hero. That's why she didn't just disguise herself as a boy and run off to join the army. To maintain the subterfuge, she would have had to remain a private soldier. What she needed was a compelling reason to do it as herself, and what better reason than orders from God?
Believers will accept her having been visited by saints and archangels as a matter of fact. Others will say she lied about them, some that she, like anybody else who claims to hear voices, was insane. The truth is that she wanted be a soldier so desperately that she subconsciously let her vivid imagination and her simple and devout faith combine to convince her conscious mind that heavenly messengers appeared before her telling her that God wanted her to go to war to save France. And how could she refuse to do that? It is a testament to her intelligence, strength of character, and determination that she succeeded.
Joyeux anniversaire, Sainte-Jeanne. Et merci.
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