Saint Joan · Chapter
Tragedy Not Melodrama explained
Shaw argues that the drama of Joan of Arc is a tragedy, not a melodrama, because there are no villains.
What happens
Shaw argues that the drama of Joan of Arc is a tragedy, not a melodrama, because there are no villains. The people who condemned Joan were not evil but normally innocent people acting with good intentions and righteousness. This contradiction between pious intentions and tragic outcomes introduces an element of comedy into the tragedy, elevating it above mere police court sensation.
Themes in this chapter
Justice and Injustice
Explores the paradox of judicial murder: how normally innocent people can commit terrible acts in the name of righteousness, turning justice into tragedy.
The Tragedy of Greatness
Joan's greatness is underscored by the fact that her death was not the work of villains but of well-intentioned people, making her story a high tragedy rather than a melodrama.
Characters to notice
- Joan of Arc
The subject of the tragedy, whose death at the hands of normally innocent people gives the story its tragic significance.
- Peter Cauchon
Portrayed not as a rascally bishop but as a capable and eloquent exponent of The Church Militant, avoiding the melodramatic villain trope.
- The Inquisitor
Portrayed as a capable and eloquent exponent of The Church Litigant, not as a cruel figure, to maintain high tragedy.
- Mark Twain
Mentioned as one of the authors who reduced Joan's story to melodrama by depicting Cauchon and the Inquisitor as villains.
- Andrew Lang
Mentioned alongside Mark Twain as an author who reduced Joan's story to melodrama by depicting Cauchon and the Inquisitor as villains.
Key passages
“There are no villains in the piece.”
No character is purely evil or malicious.
Shaw establishes the central thesis that the drama lacks traditional villains.
“The rascally bishop and the cruel inquisitor of Mark Twain and Andrew Lang are as dull as pickpockets; and they reduce Joan to the level of the even less interesting person whose pocket is picked.”
Portraying Cauchon and the Inquisitor as villains makes Joan's story as trivial as a petty crime.
Shaw criticizes melodramatic depictions that diminish Joan's significance.
“The tragedy of such murders is that they are not committed by murderers. They are judicial murders, pious murders; and this contradiction at once brings an element of comedy into the tragedy: the angels may weep at the murder, but the gods laugh at the murderers.”
The horror of these killings lies in their being done by righteous people, creating a dark comedy where divine beings react differently.
Shaw highlights the ironic and comedic aspect of pious violence.