Saint Joan of Arc (Jeanne la Pucelle): Difference between revisions
→Recollections of Joan of Arc by Mark Twain
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Some critics complain that in writing the book, Twain succumbed to Catholicism. I have no words to express how stupid that is. It's got to be their animosity for Christianity in general, and for Catholicism in particular, when expressed as profoundly by Saint Joan. Worse, one actually claims that Twain was infatuated by cross-dressing (such as one hilarious scene in Huck Finn and two examples from minor short stories<ref>[https://medium.com/the-awl/the-riddle-of-mark-twains-passion-for-joan-of-arc-8f20f997d13c The Riddle Of Mark Twain’s Passion For Joan Of Arc | by The Awl | The Awl | Medium]</ref>) and his interpretation of the trial of Joan was entirely focused on her male dress. It's even stupider than the accusation of Twain as overly Catholic. | Some critics complain that in writing the book, Twain succumbed to Catholicism. I have no words to express how stupid that is. It's got to be their animosity for Christianity in general, and for Catholicism in particular, when expressed as profoundly by Saint Joan. Worse, one actually claims that Twain was infatuated by cross-dressing (such as one hilarious scene in Huck Finn and two examples from minor short stories<ref>[https://medium.com/the-awl/the-riddle-of-mark-twains-passion-for-joan-of-arc-8f20f997d13c The Riddle Of Mark Twain’s Passion For Joan Of Arc | by The Awl | The Awl | Medium]</ref>) and his interpretation of the trial of Joan was entirely focused on her male dress. It's even stupider than the accusation of Twain as overly Catholic. | ||
As for Twain's Catholicism, let's just say he falls short. | As for Twain's Catholicism, let's just say he falls short. Across this narrative of the life of a devout Catholic, he says next to nothing of the Mother of God, whereas the historical record affirms Joan's devotion to Our Lady.<ref>See [https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-137-06954-2_3 The Virgin Mary and the “Voices” of Joan of Arc | SpringerLink]</ref> Twain mentions but fails to illuminate the crucial role of Joan's despair over denial of the Sacraments in her coerced "abjuration" (a kind of renunciation, but short of full admission) seven days before her execution. Her longing for the Eucharist must have pained her as much as any other injustice she suffered, and one can be sure that [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/2?35 Luke 2:34], "(and you yourself a sword will pierce)" was her regular companion. There are other examples, but none detract from Twain\'s marvelous work. I mention it to show how idiotic it is to criticize Twain for succumbing to either Catholicism or Medieval mysticism, or that he was infatuated with transvestitism - a shameful accusation<ref>The author of [https://medium.com/the-awl/the-riddle-of-mark-twains-passion-for-joan-of-arc-8f20f997d13c The Riddle Of Mark Twain’s Passion For Joan Of Arc] references another academic who points to Twain\'s correspondence with young girls, which apparently embarrassed Twain\'s daughter at some point -- yet even that source admits Twain of no improprieties.</ref>! | ||
Twain indeed fell in love with the story of Joan of Arch, and he dedicated himself to telling it. And not wonder he worked so hard on it: it's not an easy story to tell, and the lines he draws between his fictionalized characters and the true history are narrow, while never leading the reader astray from actual events. It's a grand project. | |||
A final note: Twain wrote the book before Joan was canonized, thus "Saint Joan" does not appear in the work. Twain does describe her as a saint: <blockquote>She was not solely a saint, an angel, she was a clay-made girl also — as human a girl as any in the world, and full of a human girl's sensitivenesses and tendernesses and delicacies.<ref>citation to do >> p. 369 of 1901 edition (not in Harpers)</ref> </blockquote> | A final note: Twain wrote the book before Joan was canonized, thus "Saint Joan" does not appear in the work. Twain does describe her as a saint: <blockquote>She was not solely a saint, an angel, she was a clay-made girl also — as human a girl as any in the world, and full of a human girl's sensitivenesses and tendernesses and delicacies.<ref>citation to do >> p. 369 of 1901 edition (not in Harpers)</ref> </blockquote> | ||