The novel is presented as a translation by "Jean Francois Alden" of memoirs by Sieur Louis de Conte, a fictionalized version of Joan of Arc's page Louis de Contes. He has the same initials as Samuel Langhorne Clemens, Mark Twain's real name. The novel is divided into three sections according to Joan of Arc's development: a youth in Domrémy, a commander of the army of Charles VII of France, and a defendant at trial in Rouen. They are entitled "In Domremy", "In Court and Camp", and "Trial and Martyrdom". Its first book publication was in two volumes, with the second part "In Court and Camp" split between Volume 1 and Volume 2. Some modern editions note where Volume 1 leaves off, and Volume 2 takes up and others do not.
The novel was first published as a serialization in Harper's Magazine beginning in April 1895. Twain was aware of his reputation as a comic writer and he asked that each installment appear anonymously so that readers would treat it seriously. Regardless, his authorship soon became known, and Harper and Brothers published the book edition with his name in May 1896.[2]
Many events in the novel are fictionalized; however, the main events in the life of Joan are rendered faithfully.
The novel begins with "the Translator's Preface"; then follows a short note entitled "A Peculiarity of Joan of Arc's History" also written by "The Translator". Finally, a foreword is presented by "The Sieur Louis de Conte", who represents an actual person in the life of Joan of Arc but here is fictionalized by the author Mark Twain as a childhood playmate of Joan who later serves as her page and secretary. The "Translator's Preface" offers an overview of Joan of Arc's life, with heavy praise: "the character of Joan of Arc ... occupies the loftiest possible to human attainment". The short "Peculiarity" note explains, first, that many actual details about (the long-ago) life of Joan of Arc are uniquely established and known, having been recorded under oath in court documents that are preserved in the National Archives of France; and, that the "mass of added particulars" here are provided by Sieur de Conte, who, the (fictional) Translator assures us, is reliable.
In the forward Twain's fictional Sieur Louis de Conte presents himself in the year 1492—more than 60 years after Joan of Arc's death in 1431—as writing his "Personal Recollections ..." about the life of Joan of Arc and his intimate relation to it: "I was with her from the beginning until the end"[3] Here author Twain assigns his character Sieur de Conte to serve as the first-person narrator of his Joan of Arc story, and perhaps to serve as an alter-ego of the author in that role.[4]
Book One: In Domrémy
Book One begins with the first-person narrator Sieur Louis de Conte relating that he was born on January 6, 1410, in Neufchâteau, France—after his family "...had fled to those distant regions from the neighborhood of Paris in the first years of the century." He relates that Paris was then tormented by mobs, criminals, and other instabilities and that his parents had been persecuted there because they supported the King of France against his enemies the English and Burgundians. Even so, when de Conte was but five, his native village was devastated and his family massacred by a Burgundian raiding party. Now orphaned, he was sent to a small, rural, rudimentary village called Domrémy to live with the parish priest there, (who taught young de Conte to read and write). In that village, he meets the young Joan d’Arc, an illiterate peasant girl who was exactly two years younger than him. Recalling the ordinary times as well as the extraordinary events of Joan's childhood life in Domrémy, de Conte now tells of multiple incidents where Joan is shown to be precocious: the wisest, bravest, most virtuous child in the small village. He details her arguments in defense of the village fairies (made to the priest); also in support of a homeless soldier and of a criminal madman.
In Chapters VI through VIII, de Conte recounts seeing Joan converse with a divine entity, then learning (from her explanation) that she has been chosen by God to "win back France, and set the crown upon the head of His servant that is Dauphin and shall be King." When she publicly announces this mission the local governor and the villagers mock her, and her parents put her under "strict watch." Nonetheless, Joan remains adamant.
At age sixteen Joan is confronted with a lawsuit claiming breach of promise to marry, filed by a delusional youth of the village. She declines to seek legal counsel, electing to conduct her own defense. She adroitly cross-examines the young man, reducing his testimony "rag by rag to ruin," and prompting the judge to throw the complaint out of court.
Book Two: In Court and Camp
Book Two begins with the elimination of Joan's hindrances. With support from her visions, Joan leaves the village at age 17 to request control of the army from the king. In Chapter IX, after Joan successfully defends herself in trial for witchcraft, the king appoints Joan "General-in-Chief of armies."
In Chapter X, Joan begins to organize her campaign, writing a letter to the English commanders at Orléans, demanding they vacate France. The English refuse, and Joan attacks immediately and aggressively despite the generals' and counselors' advice that France remain on the defensive. Through this military campaign, Joan secures several victories over the English. On July 5, the English forces surrender at Rheims, allowing the Bloodless March and coronation of Charles to take place. During the coronation, asked by the king to name her reward for her services to France, Joan requests the taxes on Domremy be remitted.
After the coronation, Joan requests permission to attack Paris, saying that the move would cripple the English forces. The king's counselors, however, oppose her in the attempt. The king initially grants Joan permission to attack, but just as Joan is on the verge of victory, the king announces a long-term truce, which indicates a ceasefire and leaves Paris in enemy hands. Joan and de Conte are upset at the lost opportunity.
The final chapter relates the events of May 24, 1430, in which Joan and the French lose a battle to the English and Burgundian troops, resulting in Joan's capture.
Throughout Book 2, de Conte speaks of Joan's virtue (her ban on prostitution, gambling, and profanity in the army; her requirement that each man attend church; and her mercy toward English prisoners) as well as Joan's divine powers (her recognizing the king without notice, finding a hidden sword in the church, foreseeing war-wounds and her impending death).
The third and final book opens with Joan d’Arc's imprisonment at Marguy. For five and a half months, the Burgundians hold Joan, waiting for King Charles to provide a ransom of 61,125 francs. When no attempt is made, she is sold to the English. For two more months, Joan remains imprisoned while her enemies, led by Bishop Pierre Cauchon of Beauvais, prepare her trial. In an attempt to lessen her influence over the French people, they decide to try Joan for crimes against religion.
Beginning in Chapter IV, the novel provides a detailed account of Joan's three-month-long trial starting on February 21, 1431. de Conte, secretly serving as clerk to the chief recorder, describes the trial as unfair on multiple fronts, including the biased judges and the lack of advocates on her behalf.
The questions at trial focus on topics such as the visions, her cross-dressing, and her upbringing. de Conte stresses that Joan, the illiterate peasant, fared extremely well, providing well-spoken answers that could not be twisted against her. Chapter VII recounts her most well-known answer after being asked by Beaupere, “Are you in a state of Grace?” (This is a trick question asked by Beaupere. According to Catholic teaching, only God knows who is in a state of Grace. By answering either yes or no, Joan can be accused of blasphemy.) Conte states that with simple gravity she answers, “If I be not in a state of Grace, I pray God place me in it; if I be in it, I pray God keep me so.”
In Chapter XX, Joan finally submits to her captors before she is about to die at the stake. Unable to read, Joan unknowingly signs a document “confessing herself a sorceress, a dealer with devils, a liar, a blasphemer of God and His angels…and this signature of hers bound her to resume the dress of a woman." At the end of Chapter XXI, readers may think that de Conte insinuates Joan d'Arc was raped in prison by the English guards due to the vague wording. It is important, however, to note that at the end of Chapter XXIII, this interpretation is directly gone against by Joan's own statements, relayed by de Conte, during a passionate outburst of indignation and despair by Joan to those dooming her, specifically referring to herself as one who has "never been defiled." If this were the case, she would have taken them to task for this cruelty at that time, and it would have been reflected in the narrative.
In Chapter XXII, de Conte accuses the English of treachery. While Joan slept, one of the guards removed her female apparel and put male apparel in its place. "For modesty's sake," Joan put on the male clothes, "the forbidden garments, knowing what the end would be."
For breaking the condition that she not wear men's clothing again, Joan is convicted as a "relapsed heretic." She burns at the stake on the following Wednesday, May 30, 1431.
Conclusion
The fictional biographer, de Conte, ends his presentation in the year 1492, when he is 82years of age. He summarizes the lives and deaths of many of the characters, including Joan's family and King Charles the VII. He closes with a salute to the legacy of Joan, citing her impact on the country she loved so much.
Writing process
I like Joan of Arc best of all my books; and it is the best; I know it perfectly well. And besides, it furnished me seven times the pleasure afforded me by any of the others; twelve years of preparation, and two years of writing. The others needed no preparation and got none.
—Mark Twain
Joan of Arc largely lacks the humor prevalent in Twain's other works, and it has a different tone and flow. He had a personal fascination with Joan of Arc which began in the early 1850s when he found a leaf from her biography and asked his brother Henry if she was a real person.[5] Cultural historian Ted Gioia notes that Twain was "raised in a Southern culture that was deeply suspicious of – and sometimes openly hostile to – Roman Catholicism", but that in the novel Twain comes across as passionately Catholic.[6]
Twain claimed to have worked harder on this book than any other. He wrote to H.H. Rogers, "I have never done any work before that cost so much thinking and weighing and measuring and planning and cramming."[7] The published book lists 11official sources as "authorities examined in verification of the truthfulness of this narrative".[8] Historians today agree that Twain conducted the bulk of his investigation during his prolonged stay in Europe during the early 1890s, which included multiple stops in France. He apparently drew most of his information from the fifth volume of Jules Michelet's Histoire de France and Jules Quicherat's Proces de condamnation et de rehabilitation de Jeanne d’Arc. Joan of Arc's story was relatively unknown at that time, especially in English-speaking nations, which makes Twain's research noteworthy.[4]
Twain based Joan of Arc's physical appearance on his daughter Susy Clemens, as he remembered her at age17.[9] He began writing the novel late in 1892, then set it aside until 1894; he finished the manuscript in 1895. He serialized an abridged version for magazine publication, then published the full-length book in 1896.[10]
Reception
Twain's self-evaluation, and contemporary critics
Twain considered this work to be his best and most important. It was fairly well received in 1895 when first published.[11] In her biography of her father, Twain's daughter Clara Clemens reported a positive review of the work in The Morning Leader:[12]
We meet a dignified, ennobled, hero-worshipping Mark Twain. His language has undergone a startling change. Not flippancy, but pathos, meets us on every page; the sardonic mocking spirit has been conquered by the fair Maid of Orleans, and where aforetime we met laughter, we now meet tears.[13]
And she wrote that "Andrew Lang so much admired Father’s Joan that he suggested dedicating to him his own biography of the Maid."[14]
As a child, Coley Taylor was Twain's neighbor in Redding, Connecticut, where Twain lived from 1908 until his death in 1910. He told the story of the day when he approached Twain as a young boy to profess his adulation for Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Upon hearing the boy's praises, Twain suddenly took on the mien of a vexed schoolteacher. "You shouldn’t read those books about bad boys," he said, wagging his finger in Taylor's face. "My best book is my Recollections of Joan of Arc."[4]
20th-century critics
However, 20th-century critics have not favored Recollections, and it is hardly read or acknowledged in the mainstream today, especially compared to Twain's comedic works such as Huckleberry Finn, Pudd'n Head Wilson, and Tom Sawyer.[4]
In the preface to his play Saint Joan, G. B. Shaw accused Twain of being "infatuated" with Joan of Arc. Shaw says that Twain "romanticizes" the story of Joan, reproducing a legend that the English deliberately rigged the trial to find her guilty of witchcraft and heresy. Recent study of the trial transcripts, however, suggests that Twain's depiction may have been closer to the truth than Shaw was willing to accept.[15]
American author and historian Bernard DeVoto was also critical of Joan of Arc, calling it "mawkish".[16] De Voto also claims that Twain "was uncomfortable in the demands of tragedy, formalizing whatever could not be sentimentalized."[17]Maxwell Geismar delivered a scathing review, describing it as Twain's worst book: "It is difficult to find anything of interest in Joan of Arc – except its badness".[18] Twain scholar Louis J. Budd said that Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc "has disgraced Twain posthumously with several levels of readers", even though "it met general approval in 1896".[11]
Susan Harris[a] expresses befuddlement at this work's placement in Twain's body of works: "By the time Twain is writing Recollections, he's not a believer. He is anti-Catholic, and he doesn't like the French. So he writes a book about a French-Catholic-martyr? Ostensibly, it doesn't make a lot of sense."[4]
↑ Susan K. Harris is a Twain expert who teaches at the University of Kansas, who helped produce the novel's 1996 edition by Oxford University Press.
Sources
Ward, Geoffrey C., Duncan, Dayton, and Burns, Ken, (2001). Mark Twain: An Illustrated Biography. Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN0-375-40561-5.
Long, E. (1957). Mark Twain Handbook. New York: Hendricks House, Inc.
Twain, Mark (1989). Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc. San Francisco: Ignatius Press. ISBN0-89870-268-2.
Gerber, John (1988). Mark Twain. Boston: Twayne Publishers. ISBN0-8057-7518-8.
Bloom, Harold (1986). Mark Twain. New York: Chelsea House Publishers. ISBN0-87754-698-3.
Bellamy, Gladys (1950). Mark Twain As a Literary Artist. Oklahoma: Norman University of Oklahoma Press.
Maxwell, Geismar (1970). Mark Twain An American Prophet. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company.
Budd, Louis (1983). Our Mark Twain The Marking of His Public Personality. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN0-8122-1204-5.
Clemens, Clara (1931). My Father Mark Twain. New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers.
Related Research Articles
Joan of Arc is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronation of Charles VII of France during the Hundred Years' War. Claiming to be acting under divine guidance, she became a military leader who transcended gender roles and gained recognition as a savior of France.
The siege of Orléans marked a turning point of the Hundred Years' War between France and England. The siege took place at the pinnacle of English power during the later stages of the war, but was repulsed by French forces inspired by the arrival of Joan of Arc. The French would then regain the initiative in the conflict and began to recapture territories previously occupied by the English.
Charles VII, called the Victorious or the Well-Served, was King of France from 1422 to his death in 1461. His reign saw the end of the Hundred Years' War and a de facto end of the English claims to the French throne.
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Faulkner calling him "the father of American literature." Twain's novels include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), with the latter often called the "Great American Novel." He also wrote A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889) and Pudd'nhead Wilson (1894) and cowrote The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today (1873) with Charles Dudley Warner.
Louis-Honoré Fréchette was a Canadian poet, politician, playwright and short story writer. For his prose, he would be the first Quebecois to receive the Prix Montyon from the Académie française, as well as the first Canadian to receive any honor of this kind from a European nation.
The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc is a 1999 English-language French epic historical drama film directed by Luc Besson and starring Milla Jovovich, John Malkovich, Faye Dunaway and Dustin Hoffman. The screenplay was written by Besson and Andrew Birkin, and the original score was composed by Éric Serra.
Yolande of Aragon was Duchess of Anjou and Countess of Provence by marriage, who acted as regent of Provence during the minority of her son. Yolande played a crucial role in the struggles between France and England, influencing events such as the financing of Joan of Arc's army in 1429 that helped tip the balance in favour of the French. She was also known as Yolanda de Aragón and Violant d'Aragó. Tradition holds that she commissioned the famous Rohan Hours.
Joan of Arc is a 1948 American epic historical drama film directed by Victor Fleming, and starring Ingrid Bergman as the eponymous French religious icon and war heroine. It was produced by Walter Wanger and is based on Maxwell Anderson's successful Broadway play Joan of Lorraine, which also starred Bergman, and was adapted for the screen by Anderson himself, in collaboration with Andrew Solt. It is the last film Fleming directed before his death in 1949.
Marta Steinsvik was a Norwegian author and translator. She was a champion of women's rights, a proponent of antisemitism and anti-Catholicism, and promoter of the use of Nynorsk. She was the first female to graduate from the Norwegian School of Theology.
John II of Alençon was a French nobleman. He succeeded his father as Duke of Alençon and Count of Perche as a minor in 1415, after the latter's death at the Battle of Agincourt. He is best known as a general in the last phase of the Hundred Years' War and for his role as a comrade-in-arms of Joan of Arc.
Joan of Arc has inspired artistic and cultural works for nearly six centuries. The following lists cover various media to include items of historic interest, enduring works of high art, and recent representations in popular culture. The entries represent portrayals that a reader has a reasonable chance of encountering rather than a complete catalog. Lesser known works, particularly from early periods, are not included. In this article, many of the excluded items are derivative of better known representations. For instance, Friedrich Schiller's 1801 play The Maid of Orleans inspired at least 82 different dramatic works during the nineteenth century, and Verdi's and Tchaikovsky's operatic adaptations are still recorded and performed. Most of the others survive only in research libraries. As another example, in 1894, Émile Huet listed over 400 plays and musical works about Joan of Arc. Despite a great deal of scholarly interest in Joan of Arc, no complete list of artistic works about her exists, although a 1989 doctoral dissertation did identify all relevant films including ones for which no copy survives.
There are a number of revisionist theories about Joan of Arc which contradict the established account of her life. These include the theories she was an illegitimate royal child; that she was not burned at the stake; that most of her story is a fabrication; and that she escaped death at the stake. These theories have not gained significant acceptance among academic historians.
Isabelle Romée, also known as Isabelle de Vouthon and Isabelle d'Arc (1377–1458) and Ysabeau Romee, was the mother of Joan of Arc. She grew up in Vouthon-Bas and later married Jacques d'Arc. The couple moved to Domrémy, where they owned a farm consisting of about 50 acres (200,000 m2) of land. After their daughter's famous exploits in 1429, the family was granted noble status by Charles VII in December of that year. Isabelle moved to Orléans in 1440 after her husband's death and received a pension from the city. She petitioned Pope Nicholas V to reopen the court case that had convicted Joan of heresy, and then, in her seventies, addressed the opening session of the appellate trial at Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. The appeals court overturned Joan's conviction on 7 July 1456. Isabelle died two years later, probably at Sandillon near Orléans.
Joan of Arc is a 1999 Canadian two-part television miniseries about the 15th-century Catholic saint of the same name. The miniseries stars Leelee Sobieski as Saint Joan. A joint production of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Alliance Atlantis Communications, it was shown internationally in 1999.
Due to inconsistent record keeping and different contemporary customs, the name of Joan of Arc at birth is not known for certain.
The Trial of Joan of Arc was a 15th century legal proceeding against Joan of Arc, a French military leader under Charles VII during the Hundred Years' War. During the siege of Compiègne in 1430, she was captured by Burgundian forces and subsequently sold to their English allies. She was prosecuted by a pro-English church court at Rouen, Normandy, in 1431. The court found her guilty of heresy and she was burned at the stake. The verdict was later nullified at Joan's rehabilitation trial, which was overseen by the Inquisitor-General, Jean Bréhal, in 1456. Considered a French national heroine, she was declared a saint by the Roman Catholic Church in 1920. The trial is one of the most famous in history, becoming the subject of many books and films.
Jean d'Aulon (1390–1458) was a French knight and lord best known for serving alongside Jeanne d'Arc as her soldier, steward, bodyguard, and squire. Some sources incorrectly attribute the role of d'Arc's bodyguard to Gilles de Rais. d'Aulon was an avid and detailed journaler and his records, considered to be honest and straightforward, set the foundation for what we know about Jeanne d'Arc, including her apparent amenorrhea.
Olivia Susan Clemens was the second child and eldest daughter of Samuel Clemens, who wrote under the pen name Mark Twain, and his wife Olivia Langdon Clemens. She inspired some of her father's works, at 13 wrote her own biography of him, which he later published in his autobiography, and acted as a literary critic. Her father was heartbroken when she died of spinal meningitis at age 24.
Jacquesd'Arc was a farmer from Domrémy, France, who was the father of the French military leader and Catholic saint Joan of Arc. D'Arc is most known for being an influence on his daughter Joan's life, developing her leadership abilities through his example as a local government and military leader as well as restricting her ambitions with his controlling behaviour that resulted in a strained relationship between them.
After the French lifted the siege of Orléans and won a decisive victory at the Battle of Patay, the English and Burgundians no longer posed a threat. Joan of Arc convinced the Dauphin Charles to go to Reims for his coronation. Successfully marching their army though the heart of territory held by the hostile Burgundians solidified the Dauphin’s regrasp of the throne of France. He had been disinherited from it through the Treaty of Troyes.
↑ Pérnoud, Regine; Clin, Marie-Véronique (1999). Joan of Arc: Her Story. Translated by Adams, Jeremy Duquesnay. New York, NY: St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN0-312-22730-2.
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