# XXIII: The Time Is at Hand explained — Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc

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

## What happens

Joan is condemned as a relapsed heretic and sentenced to death by fire. Louis de Conte writes her final dictated letter to her mother, conveying her love and the vision of the Tree. Joan prepares for martyrdom, finding peace through her faith, while her followers struggle with despair and hope for a last-minute rescue that never comes.

## 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.

## Character check-ins

### 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 lines

> 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._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/personal_recollections_of_joan_of_arc_se/chapters/xxiii-the-time-is-at-hand
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