# Joan's Social Position explained — Saint Joan

> Chapter companion for Saint Joan by George Bernard Shaw.

## What happens

This chapter examines Joan of Arc's social background, arguing against the romanticized notion that she was a poor shepherd girl. Instead, it presents her as the daughter of a working farmer who held a position of local leadership, allowing her a degree of social standing and comfort. The chapter highlights her literacy (or lack thereof) in context, her practical knowledge of politics and military affairs, and her pride in her domestic skills, ultimately positioning her as more of a 'young lady' and intellectual than commonly assumed.

## Themes in this chapter

### Historical Interpretation

The chapter challenges romanticized historical narratives that portray Joan as a poor shepherd girl, instead presenting a more nuanced view of her social standing based on evidence.

### Gender and Power

Joan's pride in her domestic skills and her ability to command respect despite her gender and illiteracy are highlighted, showing how she navigated social expectations.

## Character check-ins

### Joan of Arc

Discussed as the daughter of a working farmer, not a beggar or princess; illiterate but politically and militarily astute; proud of her household skills and social position.

### Robert de Baudricourt

Mentioned as the commandant at Vaucouleurs whom Joan converted by revealing the defeat at the Battle of Herrings before official news arrived.

## Key lines

> By class Joan was the daughter of a working farmer who was one of the headmen of his village, and transacted its feudal business for it with the neighboring squires and their lawyers.

Joan came from a family of some local importance: her father was a farmer who also managed the village's feudal dealings with nearby nobles and lawyers.

_Establishes Joan's social position as above common peasantry._

> When she was called a shepherd lass to her face she very warmly resented it, and challenged any woman to compete with her in the household arts of the mistresses of well furnished houses.

Joan strongly objected to being called a shepherd girl and boasted that she could match any woman in the domestic skills expected of a well-to-do housewife.

_Shows Joan's pride and her rejection of demeaning labels._

> Her first convert was the neighboring commandant at Vaucouleurs; and she converted him by telling him about the defeat of the Dauphin's troops at the Battle of Herrings so long before he had official news of it that he concluded she must have had a divine revelation.

Joan convinced the local commander at Vaucouleurs by accurately describing a recent French defeat before any official report reached him, leading him to believe she had divine knowledge.

_Demonstrates Joan's political and military awareness and its role in her early success._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/saint_joan_se/chapters/joan-s-social-position
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/saint_joan_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/saint_joan_se/chapters