Subiectul 7

-Contributia lui G.B. Shaw la revolutia teatrului englez-

(Pygmalion, Cezar si Cleopatra, Sfanta Ioana)

G.B. SHAW

 1856- 1950. Piesele lui cuprind o arie istorica: Antichitatea (Cezar si Cleopatra),
Razboiul de 100 de ani (Sfanta Ioana), Shakespeare, Restauratia engleza, Rusia secolului
XVIII si Revolutia Americana
 Irlandez, autodidact, considerat clasic inca din timpul vietii
 Premiul Nobel pentru literatura si Oscarul pentru cel mai bun scenariu de film- singurul
care detine aceste doua distinctii, ambele pentru “My fair lady”
- Anglia era in plina putere. Facea parte din socialistii fabianisti= transformarea societatii
pe cale pasnica. Influentat de Marx preponderent, Nietzche.
 A scris 50 de piese. Critica sociala era in prim-plan.
 Urmasul lui Dickens. Necrutator fata de diferite aspecte ale societatii, prejudecati care
dominau viata sociala.
 In perioada Victoriana, scena londoneza era in mare parte ocupata de comedii usoare,
piese romantioase, etc
 Voia sa transforme teatrul intr-un instrument moral
 Admirator al lui Ibsen, pionierul dramei realiste modern
 Marea majoritate a pieselor au fost scrise dupa varsta de 50 de ani
 Ca principala tema- omul dornic sa se perfectioneze necontenit- vezi Pygmalion:
cersetoare-florareasa ajunsa ducesa in sase luni, in urma unui pariu dintre un logoped si
un coleg de-al sau. Ajunge sa sparga barierele sociale
 in Cezar si Cleopatra critica idea de cuplu elitist prin ironizarea acestuia.

 cu viata si cu opera sa, geroge bernard Shaw a acoperit doua jumatati de secol, caci a trait
94 de ani, din 1856 pana in 1950. In tot acest timp, societatea engleza, in paticular, si cea
europeana, in general, au trecut prin uriase procese su transformari, de la cele economice
la cele spirituale. Fata de acestea scriitorul a avut mereu o atitudine clara, orientandu-se
 cu consecventa spre stanga. Intreaga lui opera va purta acest semn al preocuparii pentru
actiunea sociala;
 Era animat, de asemenea, de o mare pasiune morala, fapt definitoriu, de altfel, pentru
majoritatea marilor scriitori de la sfarsitul secolului al XIX-lea. Shaw nu urmarea sa
obtina de la spectator emotie, caci el se adresa doar vointei lui, incercand sa-l determine
la atitudine si actiune. In convingerea scriitorului, forma superioara de viata se realizeaza
in actul vointei;
 demitizează istoria în piesele istorice – istoria e un pretext ca să vorbească tot despre
societatea engleză;
 George Bernard Shaw, cel mai influent dramaturg al secolului al XX-lea. si-a castigat
dreptul de a ocupa locul al doilea dupaSHAKESPEARE intr-un clasament al
dramaturgilor englezi. De-a lungul unei vieti care a inceput la apogeul epocii victoriene,
s-a desfasurat pe parcursul celor doua razboaie mondiale si s-a transformat intr-o cariera
de peste saptezeci de ani activi, Shaw a examinat cele mai generale probleme morale si
filozofice, refuzand solipsismul “arta pentru arta" in favoarea ideii de reformare si
convingere cu ajutorul unei viziuni comice.  Shaw credea, poate cu mai multă tărie decât
idolul său, Ibsen, că societatea era sortită unor schimbări radicale, dacă
civilizaţia  omenească ar continua să supravieţuiască. A scris mai degrabă comedii decât
tragedii, dar ideile incluse în piesele sale sunt la fel de serioase ca oricare altele exprimate
în teatru. Subiectele lui Shaw includ sărăcirea sistemului de educaţie britanic,
romantismul ridicol, ipocrizia, argumentele pro şi contra capitalismului, eşecul birocraţiei
şi, nu în ultimul rând, incriminarea profitorilor de pe urma războiului.
 Forţa mobilizatoare a operei lui Shaw a fost denumită ironia shawiană. Tehnica sa
ironică constă în prezentarea unei situaţii date sau a unui set de relaţii faţă de care suntem
încurajaţi să dezvoltăm o anumită atitudine personală, iar apoi, la sfârşit, să ne tragă
covorul de sub picioare, demonstrându-ne că atitudinea opusă este cea pe care oamenii
inteligenţi ar trebui să o adopte.
 Shaw a jucat un rol central in revitalizarea dramei moderne, oferind un teren englezesc
pentru problemele din piesele lui IBSEN  si punand bazele teatrului modern al ideilor.
Poate ca una dintre cele mai inalte aprecieri la adresa lui Shaw ii apartine lui Bertolt
Brecht, ale carui piese si idei reflecta influenta lui Shaw. 
  Pasiunea lui Shaw pentru teatru s-a manifestat relativ tarziu in cariera lui, desi destul de
devreme intr-o viata de peste nouazeci de ani, si a survenit aproape intamplator. 
 A trebuit sa-si castige existenta ca redactor de carte si si-a propus sa educe gustul
publicului si sa impuna standarde superioare autorilor si actorilor. Ii preamarea pe
Wagner si Mozart in muzica si pe Ibsen in teatru, respingand doctrina miscarii estetice a
inutilitatii esentiale a artei in favoarea ideii ca arta trebuie sa joace un rol distinct in
reforma morala si sociala. In anii '80 ai secolului al XlX-lea, Shaw si-a insusit si cizelat
conceptele socialismului.
 “Procedeul meu e simplu: imi imaginez personajele, dupa care le las sa se maturizeze." In
cele mai multe dintre piesele sale, Shaw inverseaza tehnica luiMOLIERE, in lucrarile
caruia este ilustrata o forma de abatere de la norma. Spre deosebire de acesta, Shaw
introduce un element perturbator in gandirea si conduita conventionale pentru a
evidentia abaterea de la standardele adevarului pe care le sustine. Toate piesele lui
Shaw demonstreaza marea lui indrazneala si placerea cu care insala asteptarile.
 În Sfânta Ioana (1927), pe care mulţi o consideră capodopera sa, Shaw, ca mulţi alţi
dramaturgi, a scris despre guvernul inept al vremii sale, plasând acţiunea în altă epocă.
Totodată a luat în discuţie şi dreptul protestului individual, pe care el şi ceilalţi socialişti
îl practicau, în ciuda oricăror consecinţe ce puteau urma. El a descoperit în Ioana d’Arc
purtătorul de cuvânt potrivit pentru propria sa cauză şi s-a identificat în mod susţinut cu
bravura ei, eroina franceză  preferând rugul în dauna compromiterii integrităţii sale. Într-
un anume fel, Sfânta Ioana este o actualizare a Antigonei lui Sofocle, care, la rândul ei,
desfide un sistem rigid şi alege moartea pentru a-şi păstra onoarea. Totuşi, într-o anumită
privinţă, Sfânta Ioana poate fi considerată o comedie, deoarece sfârşitul piesei, care se
petrece după moartea eroinie, vibrează de ironie comică.
 Ultimul rând al piesei, în mod cert, nu este comic şi, astfel, Sfânta Ioana exemplifică unul
dintre cele mai rare genuri dramatice: tragicomedia. Această formă  a fost dezvoltată în
Anglia la sfârşitul secolului al şaptesprezecelea când publicul, avid după teatru la sfarşitul
lungii interdicţii puritane, agrea spectacolele în care scenele comice alternau cu scene
tragice. Cele două componente au seturi de personaje complet diferite, iar acţiunea este
separată pentru fiecare.
 Cezar din Cezar şi Cleopatra, piesă din grupul celor „pentru puritani", pierde genialitatea
pe care i-a atribuit-o istoria şi devine un bărbat tomnatic, sensibil la farmecele zglobii ale
Cleopatrei, o fetiţă de 16 ani. El ascunde sub coroana de lyuri pe care o poartă în
permanenţă, o compromiţătoare chelie. îşi aniverseazâ de şapte ori intr-un an ziua naşterii
prin cîte un banchet, dacă în felul acesta poate cuceri o femeie sau să împace un
ambasador. In totul e un om obosit, uşor sceptic şi lipsit de iluzii.
 George Bernard Shaw reia mitul și ideea lui de bază într-o piesă de teatru cu același
nume: Pygmalion. În piesă, profesorul Henry Higgins, un lingvist snob, pariază că va
transforma o florăreasă simplă, Eliza Doolittle, într-o atracție a lumii mondene londoneze
numai învățând-o să vorbească cu un accent specific înaltei clase. Ca și Pygmalion, el se
îndrăgostește de propria creație, dar aceasta îl respinge căsătorindu-se cu un tânar
aristocrat.
 Shaw se opune vehement tendinței romanțioase care impune drept singurul deznodământ
posibil o relație amoroasă între Henry și Eliza, chiar dacă transformarea ei amintește de
basmele cu prinți și fete sărmane care, odată ce-și leapădă straiele mizere, se
metamorfozează în femei frumoase care sucesc mințile princiare.
 B. Shaw are o viziune personală asupra istoriei şi pentru a o exprima artistic își ia
libertatea de a privi din nou, cu ochii omului din veacul său, ceea ce a mai fost privit în
alte veacuri, cu alţi ochi. El intervine direct, ca om al veacului său, în conflictele lui
dramatice. O face copios in prefeţe şi foarte des în indicaţiile scenice. Aceste intercalări
de perspectivă modernă, atît timp cît nu intervin în textul dramatic, încă nu primejduiesc
specificul genului. Dar Shaw nu se opreşte aici. Oricînd, în desfăşurarea unei piese
istorice, îl descoperim pe el, comentatorul modern, căruia avansul temporal îi îngăduie să
înteleagă ceea ce personajele trecutului ignorau. De aici, folosinţa anacronismului
(=eroare în fixarea datei unui eveniment) voit.
 Prezent în fiecare din piesele sale prin astfel de anacronisme — de fapt comentarii ale
autorului pe marginea evenimentelor descrise — Shaw contribuie şi prin acest procedeu
la pulverizarea miturilor din istorie: figurile istorice devin derizorii, iar istoria se
transformă adesea in farsă. Hotărîrea de a desprinde mersul faptelor istorice de marile
individualităţi il face însă pe Shaw să acorde un loc prea însemnat hazardului.
  Satiric coroziv, pamfletar de vervă, fantezist excentric în piesele sale, Shaw a imbogăţit
literatura dramatică universală cu note, tonuri, dimensiuni noi. A ştiut să fie bufon şi
paradoxal în cele mai multe piese, grav şi demascator în Profesiunea doamnei Warren,
plin de dragoste pentru omul simplu în Pygmalion. Pentru cunoscătorii literaturii şi
spiritului poporului englez, tonul satirei lui Shaw nu este un obiect de mirare. Există în
literatura engleză tradiţia unei critici sociale formulate la tonul glumeţ, numai aparent
bagatelizant şi paradoxal, de o excentricitate ce merge pînă la absurd dar care nu
diminuează eficacitatea protestului. Această tradiţie absorbită şi valorificată creator a
ilustrat-o la rîndul lui, strălucit, vreme de aproape un veac, dramaturgul irlandez.

PYGMALION

Foneticianul Henry Higgins primește rolul lui Pygmalion, iar florăresei Eliza Doolittle îi
revine rolul Galateei. Totul începe într-o noapte ploioasă, când niște trecători se
adăpostesc de ploaie în Covent Garden. Printre ei se află o florăreasă – o tânără amărâtă,
cu o engleză de mahala – și un bărbat care, spre uimirea tuturor, poate ghici de unde
provine fiecare, numai pe baza accentului și a limbajului. El se laudă că, în doar câteva
luni, ar fi capabil să o învețe pe florăreasa vulgară să mânuiască cea mai rafinată engleză,
prezentând-o drept ducesă la recepția unui ambasador.  Mi s-a părut foarte interesant
personajul lui Henry Higgins, membru înstărit al burgheziei și burlac convins, care este
pasionat doar de subiectele științifice, în schimb tratează cu indiferență atât propria
persoană, cât și problemele și sentimentele celorlalți. Deși este un fonetician talentat,
vocabularul lui lasă de dorit, fiind plin de sudălmi, cuvinte vulgare sau termeni învechiți.
Irascibil și nepăsător, egoist și oarecum superficial, lipsit de delicatețe și diplomație, el
atrage antipatia oamenilor din jur, deși nu este, în fond, o persoană răutăcioasă. Nu este
binevenit nici măcar în salonul propriei mame, căreia îi este teamă că fiul îi va alunga
prietenii prin subiecte de conversație plictisitoare sau jignitoare. Însă mama reprezintă
pentru Higgins modelul femeii ideale, pe care nu îl poate regăsi la tinerele din jur.  Eliza
Doolittle este, de asemenea, un personaj aparte. Săracă și needucată, vulgară și naivă, ea
are, cu toate acestea, o doză de demnitate și mândrie. Nu acceptă vorbele de ocară și
insinuările, susținând mereu că este fată cuminte și fiind gata să renunțe la tot pentru a-și
apăra onoarea. Probabil că, văzută pe scenă, metamorfoza ei ar avea un impact mult mai
mare – în carte, perioada de tranziție mi s-a părut prea scurtă și nu foarte convingătoare,
așa că a trebuit să-mi reamintesc că nu citesc un roman, ci o piesă în care sunt prezentate
o seamă de idei și concepte. Personajul Elizei mi-a lăsat cel mai mult senzația de
marionetă manipulată de autor: în cazul ei, am întrevăzut parcă  firele ce o manevrează –
în definitiv, două seturi de fire, de care smucesc atât Higgins, cât și Shaw.  Este interesant
că, spre final, Eliza spune că a învățat manierele frumoase de la Pickering, cel care a
tratat-o ca pe o doamnă și a ajutat-o să capete respect de sine, pe când Higgins a tratat-o
mereu ca pe o florăreasă. Higgins recunoaște că are aceeași purtare rece și indiferentă față
de toate femeile, indiferent de clasa lor socială, și că a căpătat mai multă considerație
pentru Eliza de când și-a afirmat independența.

CEZAR SI CLEOPATRA

The play has a prologue and an "Alternative to the Prologue". The prologue consists of the
Egyptian God Ra addressing the audience directly, as if he could see them in the theater. He says
thatPompey represents the old Rome and Caesar represents the new Rome. The gods favored
Caesar, according to Ra, because he "lived the life they had given him boldly". Ra recounts the
conflict between Caesar and Pompey, their battle at Pharsalia, and Pompey's eventual
assassination in Egypt at the hands of Lucius Septimius.

In "An Alternative to the Prologue", the captain of Cleopatra's guard is warned that Caesar has
landed and is invading Egypt. Cleopatra has been driven into Syria by her brother, Ptolemy, with
whom she is vying for the Egyptian throne. The messenger warns that Caesar's conquest is
inevitable and irresistible. A Nubian watchman flees to Cleopatra's palace and warns those inside
that Caesar and his armies are less than an hour away. The guards, knowing of Caesar's weakness
for women, plan to persuade him to proclaim Cleopatra—who may be controllable—Egypt's
ruler instead of Ptolemy. They try to locate her, but are told by Cleopatra's nurse, Ftatateeta, that
she has run away.

(The film version of the play, made in 1945, used the Alternative Prologue rather than the
original one.)
Act I opens with Cleopatra sleeping between the paws of a Sphinx. Caesar, wandering lonely in
the desert night, comes upon the sphinx and speaks to it profoundly. Cleopatra wakes and, still
unseen, replies. At first Caesar imagines the sphinx is speaking in a girlish voice, then, when
Cleopatra appears, that he is experiencing a dream or, if he is awake, a touch of madness. She,
not recognizing Caesar, thinks him a nice old man and tells him of her childish fear of Caesar
and the Romans. Caesar urges bravery when she must face the conquerors, then escorts her to her
palace. Cleopatra reluctantly agrees to maintain a queenly presence, but greatly fears that Caesar
will eat her anyway. When the Roman guards arrive and hail Caesar, Cleopatra suddenly realizes
he has been with her all along. She sobs in relief, and falls into his arms.

Act II. In a hall on the first floor of the royal palace in Alexandria, Caesar meets King Ptolemy
Dionysus (aged ten), his tutor Theodotus (very aged), Achillas (general of Ptolemy's troops),
andPothinus (his guardian). Caesar greets all with courtesy and kindness, but inflexibly demands
a tribute whose amount disconcerts the Egyptians. As an inducement, Caesar says he will settle
the dispute between the claimants for the Egyptian throne by letting Cleopatra and Ptolemy reign
jointly. However, the rivalry exists because, even though the two are siblings and already
married in accordance with the royal law, they detest each other with a mutual antipathy no less
murderous for being childish. Each claims sole rulership. Caesar's solution is acceptable to none
and his concern for Ptolemy makes Cleopatra fiercely jealous.

The conference deteriorates into a dispute, with the Egyptians threatening military action.
Caesar, with two legions (three thousand soldiers and a thousand horsemen), has no fear of the
Egyptian army but learns Achillas also commands a Roman army of occupation, left after a
previous Roman incursion, which could overwhelm his relatively small contingent.

As a defensive measure, Caesar orders Rufio, his military aide, to take over the palace, a theatre
adjacent to it, and Pharos, an island in the harbor accessible from the palace via a causeway that
divides the harbor into eastern and western sections. From Pharos, which has a defensible
lighthouse at its eastmost tip, those of Caesar's ships anchored on the east side of the harbor can
return to Rome. His ships on the west side are to be burnt at once. Britannus, Caesar's secretary,
proclaims the king and courtiers prisoners of war, but Caesar, to the dismay of Rufio, allows the
captives to depart. Only Cleopatra (with her retinue), fearing Ptolemy's associates, and Pothinus
(for reasons of his own), choose to remain with Caesar. The others all depart.
Caesar, intent on developing his strategy, tries to dismiss all other matters but is interrupted by
Cleopatra's nagging for attention. He indulges her briefly while she speaks amorously of Mark
Antony, who restored her father to his throne when she was twelve years old. Her gushing about
the youth and beauty of Mark Antony are unflattering to Caesar, who is middle-aged and
balding. Caesar nevertheless, impervious to jealousy, makes Cleopatra happy by promising to
send Mark Anthony back to Egypt. As she leaves, a wounded soldier comes to report Achillus,
with his Roman army, is at hand and that the citizenry is attacking Caesar's soldiers. A siege is
imminent.

Watching from a balcony, Rufio discovers the ships he was ordered to destroy have been torched
by Achillo's forces and are already burning. Meanwhile, Theodotus, the savant, arrives
distraught, anguished because fire from the blazing ships has spread to the Alexandrian library.
Caesar does not sympathize, saying it is better that the Egyptians should live their lives than
dream them away with the help of books. As a practicality, he notes the Egyptian firefighters will
be diverted from attacking Caesar's soldiers. At scene's end, Cleopatra and Britannus help Caesar
don his armor and he goes forth to battle.

Act III. A Roman sentinel stationed on the quay in front of the palace looks intently, across the
eastern harbor, to the west, for activity at the Pharos lighthouse, now captured and occupied by
Caesar. He is watching for signs of an impending counter-attack by Egyptian forces arriving via
ship and by way of the Heptastadion (a stone causeway spanning the five miles of open water
between the mainland and Pharos Island). The sentinel's vigil is interrupted by Ftatateeta
(Cleopatra's nurse) and Apollodorus the Sicilian (a patrician amateur of the arts), accompanied
by a retinue of porters carrying a bale of carpets, from which Cleopatra is to select a gift
appropriate for Caesar.

Cleopatra emerges from the palace, shows little interest in the carpets, and expresses a desire to
visit Caesar at the lighthouse. The sentinel tells her she is a prisoner and orders her back inside
the palace. Cleopatra is enraged, and Apollodorus, as her champion, engages in swordplay with
the sentinel. A centurion intervenes and avers Cleopatra will not be allowed outside the palace
until Caesar gives the order. She is sent back to the palace, where she may select a carpet for
delivery to Caesar. Apollodorus, who is not a prisoner, will deliver it since he is free to travel in
areas behind the Roman lines. He hires a small boat, with a single boatmen, for the purpose.
The porters leave the palace bearing a rolled carpet. They complain about its weight, but only
Ftatateeta, suffering paroxysms of anxiety, knows Cleopatra is hidden in the bundle. The
sentinel, however, alerted by Ftatateeta's distress, becomes suspicious and attempts,
unsuccessfully, to recall the boat after it departs.

Meanwhile, Rufio, eating dates and resting after the day's battle, hears Caesar speaking somberly
of his personal misgivings and predicting they will lose the battle because age has rendered him
inept. Rufio diagnoses Caesar's woes as signs of hunger and gives him dates to eat. Caesar's
outlook brightens as he eats them. He is himself again when Britannus exultantly approaches
bearing a heavy bag containing incriminating letters that have passed between Pompey's
associates and their army, now occupying Egypt. Caesar scorns to read them, deeming it better to
convert his enemies to friends than to waste his time with prosecutions; he casts the bag into the
sea.

As Cleopatra's boat arrives, the falling bag breaks its prow and it quickly sinks, barely allowing
time for Appolodorus to drag the carpet and its queenly contents safe ashore. Caesar unrolls the
carpet and discovers Cleopatra, who is distressed because of the rigors of her journey and even
more so when she finds Caesar too preoccupied with military matters to accord her much
attention. Matters worsen when Britannus, who has been observing the movements of the
Egyptian army, reports the enemy now controls the causeway and is also approaching rapidly
across the island. Swimming to a Roman ship in the eastern harbor becomes the sole possibility
for escape. Apollodorus dives in readily and Caesar follows, after privately instructing Rufio and
Britannus to toss Cleopatra into the water so she can hang on while he swims to safety. They do
so with great relish, she screaming mightily, then Rufio takes the plunge. Britannus cannot swim,
so he is instructed to defend himself as well as possible until a rescue can be arranged. A friendly
craft soon rescues all the swimmers.

Act IV. Six months elapse with Romans and Cleopatra besieged in the palace in Alexandria.
Cleopatra and Pothinus, who is a prisoner of war, discuss what will happen when Caesar
eventually leaves and disagree over whether Cleopatra or Ptolemy should rule. They part;
Cleopatra to be hostess at a feast prepared for Caesar and his lieutenants, and Pothinus to tell
Caesar that Cleopatra is a traitress who is only using Caesar to help her gain the Egyptian throne.
Caesar considers that a natural motive and is not offended. But Cleopatra is enraged at Pothinus'
allegation and secretly orders her nurse, Ftatateeta, to kill him.

At the feast the mood is considerably restrained by Caesar's ascetic preference for simple fare
and barley water versus exotic foods and wines. However, conversation grows lively when
world-weary Caesar suggests to Cleopatra they both leave political life, search out the Nile's
source and a city there. Cleopatra enthusiastically agrees and, to name the city, seeks help from
Ra, who is her favorite god.

The festivities are interrupted by a scream, followed by a thud: Pothinus has been murdered and
his body thrown from the roof down to the beach. The besieging Egyptians, both army and
civilian, are enraged by the killing of Pothinus, who was a popular hero, and they begin to storm
the palace. Cleopatra claims responsibility for the slaying and Caesar reproaches her for taking
shortsighted vengeance, pointing out that his clemency towards Pothinus and the other prisoners
has kept the enemy at bay. Doom seems inevitable, but then they learn that reinforcements,
commanded by Mithridates of Pergamos have engaged the Egyptian army. With the threat
diminished, Caesar draws up a battle plan and leaves to speak to the troops. Meanwhile, Rufio
realizes Ftatateeta was Pothinus' killer, so he kills her in turn. Cleopatra, left alone and utterly
forlorn discovers the bloodied body concealed behind a curtain.

Act V is an epilogue. Amidst great pomp and ceremony, Caesar prepares to leave for Rome. His
forces have swept Ptolemy's armies into the Nile, and Ptolemy, himself, was drowned when his
barge sank. Caesar appoints Rufio governor of the province and considers freedom for Britannus,
who declines the offer in favor of remaining Caesar's servant. A conversation ensues that
foreshadows Caesar's eventual assassination. As the gangplank is being extended from the quay
to Caesar's ship, Cleopatra, dressed in mourning for her nurse, arrives. She accuses Rufio of
murdering Ftatateeta. Rufio admits the slaying, but says it was not for the sake of punishment,
revenge or justice: He killed her without malice because she was a chronic menace, to be
disposed of as mere vermin. Caesar approves the execution because it was not influenced by
emotion. Cleopatra remains unforgiving until Caesar renews his promise to send Mark Antony to
Egypt. That renders her ecstatic as the ship starts moving out to sea.
SFANTA IOANA

Shaw characterised Saint Joan as "A Chronicle Play in 6 Scenes and an Epilogue". Joan, a
simple peasant girl, hears voices which she claims to be those of Saint Margaret, Saint Catherine,
and the archangel Michael, sent by God to guide her conduct.

Scene 1 begins with Robert de Baudricourt complaining about the inability of the hens on his
farm to produce eggs. Joan claims that her voices are telling her to raise a siege against Orléans,
and to allow her several of his men for this purpose. Joan also says that she will eventually
crown the Dauphin in Rheims cathedral. de Baudricourt ridicules Joan, but his servant feels
inspired by her words. de Baudricourt eventually begins to feel the same sense of inspiration, and
gives his consent to Joan. The servant enters at the end of the scene to exclaim that the hens have
begun to lay eggs again. de Baudricourt interprets this as a sign from God of Joan's divine
inspiration.

In Scene 2 (8 March 1429), Joan talks her way into being received at the court of the weak and
vain Dauphin. There, she tells him that her voices have commanded her to help him become a
true king by rallying his troops to drive out the English occupiers and restore France to greatness.
Joan succeeds in doing this through her excellent powers of flattery, negotiation, leadership, and
skill on the battlefield.

In Scene 3 (29 April 1429), Dunois and his page are waiting for the wind to turn so that he and
his forces can lay siege to Orléans. Joan and Dunois commiserate, and Dunois attempts to
explain to her more pragmatic realities of an attack, without the wind at their back. Her replies
eventually inspire Dunois to rally the forces, and at the scene's end, the wind turns in their
favour.

Ultimately she is betrayed, and captured by the English at the siege of Compiègne. Scene 6 (30
May 1431) deals with her trial. John de Stogumber is adamant that she be executed at once. The
Inquisitor, the Bishop of Beauvais, and the Church officials on both sides of the trial have a long
discussion on the nature of her heresy. Joan is brought to the court, and continues to assert that
her voices speak to her directly from God and that she has no need of the Church's officials. This
outrages de Stogumber. She acquiesces to the pressure of torture at the hands of her oppressors,
and agrees to sign a confession relinquishing the truth behind her voices, so that she can live a
life in permanent confinement without hope of parole. Upon hearing this, Joan changes her mind:
Joan: "You think that life is nothing but not being dead? It is not the bread and water I fear. I can
live on bread. It is no hardship to drink water if the water be clean. But to shut me from the light
of the sky and the sight of the fields and flowers; to chain my feet so that I can never again climb
the hills. To make me breathe foul damp darkness, without these things I cannot live. And by
your wanting to take them away from me, or from any human creature, I know that your council
is of the devil."

Joan accepts the ultimate punishment of death at the stake as preferable to such an imprisoned
existence. de Stogumber vehemently demands that Joan then be taken to the stake for immediate
execution. The Inquisitor and the Bishop of Beauvais excommunicate her and deliver her into the
hands of the English. The Inquisitor asserts that Joan was fundamentally innocent, in the sense
that she was sincere and had no understanding of the church and the law. de Stogumber re-enters,
screaming and severely shaken emotionally after seeing Joan die in the flames, the first time that
he has witnessed such a death, and realising that he has not understood what it means to burn a
person at the stake until he has actually seen it happen. A soldier had given Joan two sticks tied
together in a cross before the moment of her death. Bishop Martin Ladvenu also reports that
when he approached with a cross to let her see the cross before she died, and he approached too
close to the flames, she had warned him of the danger from the stake, which convinced him that
she could not have been under the inspiration of the devil.

In the Epilogue, 25 years after Joan's execution, a new trial has cleared her of heresy. Brother
Martin brings the news to the now-King Charles. Charles then has a dream in which Joan
appears to him. She begins conversing cheerfully not only with Charles, but with her old
enemies, who also materialise in the King's bedroom. An emissary from the present day (at the
time of the play, the 1920s) brings news that the Catholic Church is to canonise her, in the year
1920. Joan says that saints can work miracles, and asks if she can be resurrected. At this, all the
characters desert her one by one, asserting that the world is not prepared to receive a saint such
as her. The last to leave is the English soldier, who is about to engage in a conversation with
Joan before he is summoned back to hell at the end of his 24-hour respite. The play ends with
Joan ultimately despairing that mankind will never accept its saints:

O God that madest this beautiful earth, when will it be ready to accept thy saints? How long, O
Lord, how long?