XXIII: The Time Is at Hand explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Faith and Divine Mission

  Joan's acceptance of her death as God's will, her vision of the Tree, and her peaceful communion with the Sacrament highlight her unwavering faith and sense of divine purpose.

• Betrayal and Martyrdom

  Joan is betrayed by the ecclesiastical court, condemned to a fiery death, and embraces martyrdom with serenity, fulfilling her role as a sacrificial figure.

• Courage and Resilience

  Despite her fear of fire, Joan overcomes her terror, shows concern for her followers, and faces death with courage and composure.

Characters to notice

• Joan of Arc

  Condemned to death by fire, she dictates a final letter to her mother, shows concern for her followers, and finds peace through her faith and the Vision of the Tree.

• Louis de Conte

  Writes Joan's final letter, breaks the stylus after use, and struggles with grief and hope for a rescue.

• Pierre Cauchon

  Summons his serfs to pronounce Joan a relapsed heretic and orders her delivery to the secular arm for execution.

• Martin Ladvenu

  Sent to prepare Joan for death, he delivers the news of her execution by fire.

• Manchon

  Accompanies Louis and the friars to Joan's cell, delivers Joan's message to Louis, and records her muttered lines.

• Noël Rainguesson

  Shares in the despair and fleeting hope for a rescue with Louis.

Key passages

• “I wrote it with the same wooden stylus which had put upon parchment the first words ever dictated by Joan of Arc⁠—that high summons to the English to vacate France, two years past, when she was a lass of seventeen; it had now set down the last ones which she was ever to dictate. Then I broke it.”

  Louis uses the same stylus Joan used for her first letter to write her final one, then breaks it, feeling it unworthy for any other use.

  Symbolizes the end of Joan's mission and the sacredness of her words.

• “The forty-two pronounced her a relapsed heretic, and condemned her to be delivered over to the secular arm.”

  Forty-two of Cauchon's followers declare Joan a heretic again and hand her over for execution.

  Formal condemnation leading to her death.

• “She sat with her hands in her lap and her head bowed, thinking, and her face was very sad.”

  Joan sits quietly, deep in sorrowful thought, unaware of the visitors.

  Depicts her contemplative and resigned state before receiving the death sentence.

• “Oh, I knew it, I knew it!”

  Joan exclaims that she had anticipated death by fire.

  Her immediate reaction to learning her execution method.

• “The fear of the fiery death was gone from Joan of Arc now, to come again no more, except for one fleeting instant⁠—then it would pass, and serenity and courage would take its place and abide till the end.”

  Joan overcomes her terror of fire and remains calm and brave until her death.

  Highlights her final spiritual victory over fear.