In Bernard Shaw's play Saint Joan, Joan, a young peasant girl, was born in the small town of Domrémy. Joan was born a peasant. Her mission was to bring the French new inspiration and take the English out of Paris. Throughout the play Joan experiences episodes when it seems that she is helped by God himself in reviving and defending her nation against the British. After reading this play and throwing out all of my beliefs of Christianity, I was undecided about whether I was attracted or repelled to the religion after I read the stories of Joan.
Joan was like any other peasant girl in the 15th century. She could not read or write, but she worked hard on her father's farm and acquired her faith and prayers. In the village she was remembered as a good and simple girl. As a peasant, she always remained close to home and did not consider leaving her village until she was older and began hearing voices. She identified the voice as that of God, telling her that she would have to perform a number of great tasks in the future. By the age of sixteen, she had visions and heard the voices that sent her on her believed mission. Joan first traveled to the court of Dauphin. Knowing that Joan hears voices and has visions, he fears that the voices may be from the devil and not God himself. Dauphin then has a priest look over Joan to test her to see if the voices are evil, but the priest finds that they are not. Joan then finds her way to Chinon, where she would find the King. Although he is hidden among the people, Joan says that she will pick him out of the crowd and recognize him, and she successfully does after never seeing him before. The King was excited to believe her voices and therefore he reassembled his troops and placed them under Joan's command. Being led by her voices, she set off to battle in the siege of Orleans. .
Joan inspired the French. She brought on a new hope by encouraging them that God was with them.
