# We Pierce the Last Ambuscades explained — Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc

> Chapter companion for Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc by Mark Twain.

## What happens

Joan and her company rest at Gien and Fierbois, where she dictates a letter to the King. The Paladin's cowardice is mocked by Noël. Joan refuses to deliver her message to the King's bishops, insisting on speaking to the Dauphin alone. The group faces a final ambush, likely set by de la Tremouille, and learns of courtly obstruction from the Sieur de Metz.

## Themes in this chapter

### Faith and Divine Mission

Joan insists she is commissioned of God and will only deliver her message to the Dauphin, not to the bishops.

### Courage and Resilience

The group faces the last ambuscade without fear, having become seasoned to danger.

### Injustice and Corruption of Power

De la Tremouille and the Archbishop obstruct Joan's access to the King, prioritizing their own power over France's salvation.

## Character check-ins

### Joan of Arc

Dictates a letter to the King; refuses to deliver her message to the bishops, insisting on speaking to the Dauphin alone; leads the group through the last ambuscade.

### Louis de Conte

Writes Joan's letter to the King; narrates the chapter's events.

### The Paladin

Swaggers and boasts after the journey; mocked by Noël for cowardice during the fog.

### Noël Rainguesson

Teases the Paladin about his supposed discretion and tree-climbing during alarms.

### Pierre d'Arc

Joan's brother; participates in the discussion about the Paladin's discretion.

### Jean de Metz

Rides with the letter to the King; reports the court's obstruction by de la Tremouille and the Archbishop.

### Bertrand de Poulengy

Rides with the letter to the King; asks Joan why she refused the bishops.

### De la Tremouille

Implied to have laid the last ambuscade; identified as a chief obstructionist at court.

## Key lines

> We rested and otherwise refreshed ourselves two or three hours at Gien, but by that time the news was abroad that the young girl commissioned of God to deliver France was come; wherefore, such a press of people flocked to our quarters to get sight of her that it seemed best to seek a quieter place; so we pushed on and halted at a small village called Fierbois.

After a short rest at Gien, the crowd's excitement over Joan's arrival forced them to move to the quieter village of Fierbois.

_Describes the group's movement to avoid the press of people._

> Discretion is a quality of the heart—solely a quality of the heart; it acts upon us through feeling. We know this because if it were an intellectual quality it would only perceive a danger, for instance, where a danger exists; whereas—

Noël argues that discretion comes from the heart, not the mind, allowing it to perceive even imaginary dangers.

_Noël's mockery of the Paladin's supposed discretion._

> Ye will forgive me, reverend sirs, but I have no message save for the King's ear alone.

Joan politely refuses to deliver her message to the bishops, insisting it is only for the King.

_Joan's defiance of the King's commission._

> The King has got the letter, but they will not let us have speech with him.

The knights report that the King received the letter but is being kept from them by courtiers.

_The obstruction by de la Tremouille and the Archbishop._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/personal_recollections_of_joan_of_arc_se/chapters/v-we-pierce-the-last-ambuscades
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- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/personal_recollections_of_joan_of_arc_se/chapters