Joan of Arc, by Mark Twain: A Book Review
By Katie Zachok
“Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.” Mark Twain’s droll statement summed up his philosophy on life and literature. Known for his wry sense of humor and practical view of the world, Twain is best known for writing American classics like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. However, his most favorite work, his pride and joy, seems to be the one that is least known among literary and Catholic circles alike: Joan of Arc.
Twain was an agnostic, which makes his choice of a French Catholic martyr as his topic a rather unusual one. Yet, despite whatever personal doubts he carried within himself, something drew him to St. Joan, and he spent 12 years researching, writing, scrapping copies, and re-writing this book. His creative process alone warrants a huge amount of appreciation, as he spent over a decade wrestling with the eternal mission and temporal struggles of this young patroness of France.
As a lover of historical fiction, Twain’s accuracy in this book is something I have and will continue to treasure. He painstakingly studied every detail of the papers, records, and history that documented St. Joan’s brief life, and traveled the length and breadth of France to make sure that his literary tribute to her would contain only the facts. He describes her life as “the only one whose validity is confirmed to us by oath” (pg. 441). He even describes in essays on his work that he has put no words into her mouth that she would not have uttered herself! Such dedication to representing St. Joan as she truly was is a lesson that many a modern author needs today.
Having chosen St. Joan as my patroness for 2021, I found it fitting to read this unusual classic in her honor. I had always been under the impression that St. Joan was a saint that only certain types of people could relate to—soldiers, athletes, victims of abuse, and of course, anyone with French heritage. Having no claim to any of those categories, I wrote her off as a saint who was for super courageous Catholics who were actively fighting the evils in our world. However, all those years of Mark Twain’s research and careful attention paid off in full—I could relate to the real St. Joan by the end of the book, and not just the caricature of her that I had absorbed. Below are five aspects of Joan of Arc that caught my attention, and I hope they encourage you to let this book into your heart as well!
1. Narration: Twain writes this literary account of Joan’s life from the perspective of Louis de Conte, her personal (and fictitious) secretary. Since Joan was illiterate, she had great need of one who was learned to whom she could dictate messages, write letters, and have important documents read to her. Louis is Joan’s childhood friend, yet is telling the story of her life to the reader as an elderly man in his 80’s.
The invention of Louis’s character is enormously advantageous to the reader, as his written voice is conversational and intimate, giving one the feel of being told her history by the fireside. His role as her secretary gives him special access to all the important events in her life, which he records for future generations, and he promises the reader that he has testified to the truth of his statements before the officials of the Church and the King. Twain uses Louis as his vehicle for demonstrating his own personal feelings about the truth of Joan’s mission, and this was especially important for the book’s success, given that Twain had a reputation for being satirical in most of his writings. It is well that we are not reading from Joan’s perspective either. Through the eyes of Louis, we watch her live her brief life, and that enables the reader to meet her eye-to-eye just like any other person might have done.
2. Personality: The saints have amazing lives and wonderful tasks sent to them by God, whether they be great or small. So often though, we fall prey to seeing the saints as untouchable heroes for whom holiness only became easier the more they practiced it. St. Joan’s mission on earth often looms larger than life, so incredible is the charge that God assigned to her. Yet, this book breathes her humanity back into her story.
Throughout the book, Joan exhibits her sensitive and empathetic heart. Whether she is in tears over the loss of men in battle, or letting a dying enemy soldier rest his head upon her knees as he breathes his last, Joan is a living reflection of God’s mercy as well as His justice. She remains steadfast and obedient to the Church, and is docile to the inspirations of her voices, yet possesses a holy stubbornness when it comes to the honor of God and fulfilling her divine commission. She demonstrates skillful leadership both on and off the battlefield, and by listening to her voices and the movements of the Holy Spirit, she continually thwarts the sinister plans of the King’s councilmen and the arguments of corrupted Church officials. She is quick to laugh, truthful at all times, and her youthful excitement inspires her men to nobler deeds than they thought were possible. Far from the crude icon of female empowerment that secular feminists have painted her to be, Joan’s entire demeanor remains strong and feminine at the same time.
3. Joan’s Humanity: Joan was a simple, devoted peasant of 17 years when the duty of saving France was laid on her shoulders. Being a teenager is overwhelming as it is, but to receive a divine commission via St. Michael? She is beside herself at first upon receiving the news that she must leave her home and family, instead to live among rough soldiers and to lead them to victory in a war that had already lasted for several generations. She cried when she was shot with an arrow in the shoulder, was hugely frustrated and annoyed by the dithering and indecision of the officers she had to work with, missed her mother acutely, begged to be allowed to go home as soon as her mission was complete, and she hysterically wept when she learned that she would face death by fire, the kind she feared most of all.
Although in each instance she eventually overcame these emotions through God’s grace, it certainly helps us centuries later to know she had a truly human heart, and didn’t always feel as fierce and courageous as her statues and images portray. St. Joan acknowledges that it is not by her own efforts that she is so courageous. She places total trust in her God, Who will not fail her, and that is the fuel for the great deeds that are wrought through her. This gives readers like you and I hope to receive similar graces. As the saying goes, “God doesn’t call the qualified; He qualifies the called.”
4. Patriotism: In this book I found the inspiration for a renewed sense of patriotism. We live in an age when our leadership in both our country and the Church have let us down in many ways. But does that mean we give up the fight? Do we spurn our cultural and spiritual heritage just because it is wounded and withered? During the Hundred Years’ War, France was a treacherous and dangerous place to live. The king was a weak-spirited man who would have rather wasted time by play-acting at kingship instead of taking initiative that called for more courage and guts than he actually had. St. Joan saw this king crowned as God commanded, and yet, he would later turn a blind eye to her imprisonment and foul treatment by the English. Joan never broke stride in believing that France had a glorious future, so long as its people clung to the Almighty. I found a renewed sense of hope having read of her loyalty and pride in her people, and it became a bit easier to trust in God’s protection when confronted with the daily news. Twain rightly declares that, “with Joan of Arc love of country was more than a mere sentiment—it was a passion. She was the Genius of Patriotism—she was Patriotism embodied, concreted, made flesh, and palpable to the touch and visible to the eye” (pg. 438).
5. Receptivity: Free will is a beautiful gift from God, and since the days of our first parents in the Garden, we have had the option to use it or abuse it. God has beautiful plans for each of us, plans that will make us the saints He created us to be. However, in order to step into that sainthood, we need to be open and receptive to what He wants to give us. After the pattern of Our Lady, St. Joan gave her own fiat to God’s plan for her life. It wasn’t how she picture her future in the slightest, and she was very afraid. Shakespeare wrote in Twelfth Night: “Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them.” St. Joan’s may have had her future thrust upon her, but her sainthood was born of her total surrender. Once she put everything in the Lord’s hands, her fear subsided and she was emotionally and spiritually free to throw herself into this great work, culminating in the complete self-sacrifice of martyrdom. Can we imagine how God would transform people’s hearts if we, each in our own way, would bow our heads and exclaim, “Let it be done to me”?
After reading Joan of Arc, my impression of its subject is wildly different, and filled with much more love and admiration. It took a witty, non-Catholic, American author to get me to embrace this medieval French saint, and I have come away with a better sense of appreciation for the differing gifts and vocations that God has planned for each of us. It is also worth noting that the saints sometimes need to be studied to be understood. They have surprising things to reveal about themselves and, so long as we refrain from judging them by their prayer cards, we will find ourselves much less alone on our journey to heaven.
