George Bernard Shaw 1856-1950
1925? Nobel Prize in Literature 1938? Oscar Pygmalion
Novels Shaw s legacy Criticism Short stories Plays Language
English Spelling reform Ghoti Kingsley Read
Other areas of interest Education Marriage Religion Health care Class privilege Votes for women
Plays Mrs Warren s Profession(1893) (1925) Arms and the Man(1894) Man and Superman (1903) Major Barbara (1905) Pygmalion (1912) Androcles and the Lion (1913) Back to Methusala (1921) Saint Joan (1923)
Saint Joan Jeanne d Arc `All Joan s are relevant but some Joans are more relevant than others I think Shaw s Saint Joan is the right one to be received by the twenty-first century. (Imogen Stubbs)
Historical Background Hundred Years War 1337-1453 England - `France
Edward III invaded France through Flanders 1356: English defeated French at Poitiers and captured King John 1360: Treaty of Brétigny: South-Western France. 1362: Statute; Law pleadings in English 1415: Henry V ressumed war : Agincourt Burgundian and Flemish factions allied with England 1420: Treaty of Troyes; heir to French throne. Married Catherine, French princess 1422: Died
The reign of Henry VI Born 1421 Henry V died 1422 John, Duke of Bedford, Regent in France Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, Regent in England
Social factors England: shires, King s judges, sheriffs and coroners, King s courts. France: provinces and baronies, feudal princes and lords. Armies and tactics
Joan of Arc, the Maid of Orléans 1412-1431 Domrémy
Joan s social position Daughter of a working farmer One of village headmen, businessman `I do not know A from B Resentful of being called a shepherd lass Proud of her accomplishments in household arts Interested in and knowledgeable of public affairs.
History Dauphin; Charles VII 1429 Siege of Orléans Chinon Crown Charles King Rheims Cathedral, July 17th 1429 Compiègne (23rd May, 1430) Bishop of Beauvais, Pierre Cauchon Witch Burnt at the stake, 30th May 1431
Saint Joan? 1450 1909 Beatification 1920 Canonisation
Literary representations George Washington, 1780 Napoleon, 1803 German Crown Prince, 1915 Lenin, 1917 Pseudo-Skakespearean, Henry VI Voltaire, La Pucelle Quicherat (1841) Mark Twain Andrew Lang Anatole France Schiller, Die Jungfrau von Orleans L Alouette, Anouilh, (1953)
Themes in Shaw s Saint Joan Religion Act IV: The Chaplain...It is these scoundrels of Jews; they get in every time money changes hands. I would not leave a Jew alive in Christendom if I had my way. The Nobleman. Why not? The Jews generally give value. They make you pay; but they deliver the goods. In my experience the men who want something for nothing are invariably Christians.
Nationalism The Chaplain. He is only a Frenchman, my lord. The Nobleman. They actually talk of France and England as their countries.theirs, if you please! What is to become of me and you if that way of thinking comes into fashion?... Men cannot serve two Masters. If this cant of serving their country takes hold of them, goodbye to the authority of feudal lords, and goodbye to the authority of the Church. That is, goodbye to you and me.
.there you will find yet another most dangerous idea. I can express it only by such phases as France for the French, England for the English, Italy for the Italians, Spain for the Spanish, and so forth. When she threatens to drive the English from the soil of Fance she is undoubtedly thinking of the whole extent of the country in which French is spoken. To her the French-speaking people are what the Holy Scriptures describe as a nation.
Cauchon:Call this side of her heresy Nationalism if you will. I can only tell you that it is essentially anti- Catholic and anti-christian; for the Catholic Church knows only one realm, and that is the realm of Christ s kingdom. Divide that kingdom into nations, and you will dethrone Christ. Dethrone Christ, and who will stand between our throats and the sword? The world will perish in a welter of wars.
There is a Will to Power n the world. It is a cunning device to supersede the aristrocracy, and make the king sole and absolute autocrat. Instead of the king being merely the first among his peers, he becomes their master. That we cannot suffer: we call no man master.. By The Maid s doctrine the king will take our lands our lands! and make them a present to God; and God will then vest them wholly in the king.
The English We were not fairly beaten, my lord. No Englishman is ever fairly beaten. You English are strangely blunt in the mind. The thick air of your country does not breed theologians. Scratch an Englishman and you will find a Protestant.
Certainly England for the English goes without saying; It is a simple law of nature. But this woman denies to England her legitimate conquests, given her by God because of her peculiar fitness to rule over less civilized races for their own good.
Joan s qualities One of the first apostles of Nationalism First French practitioner of Napoleonic realism in warfare. Pioneer of rational dress for women. Not afraid of anybody. Completely trusted her own judgement. Woman of action. Positive `She was like nobody else (Charles, epilogue)
Leadership Talked and dealt with people of all classes Coax and hustle Inspire Very capable: a born boss (Shaw) Commonsense Self-confident Natural capacity Courageous Devout Originality
Scene V Your art of war is no use, Because your knights are no good for real fighting. War is only a game to them, like tennis and all their other games; they make the rules as to what is fair and what is not fair, and heap armor on themselves and on their poor horses to keep out the arrows; and when they fall they can t get up. What use is armor against gunpowder? Common folks understand this.
Weaknesses A girl in her teens Lacked knowledge of men s vanities No velvet gloves Lack of academic education Underestimated problems in making political change Lack of caution dealing with people
Scene V I have set them right.. CHARLES:...she thinks she knows better than everyone else. JOAN: But I do know better than any of you seem to. And I am not proud; I never speak unless I know I am right.
The conflict between genius and discipline Don t argue: do as you are told. (Shaw) `We want a few mad people now. See where the sane ones have landed us. (Bertrand de Poulengy)