A woman who rose above her rank

George Bernard Shaw's character Joan of Arc is a remarkable figure in any age. Perhaps we are now more used to seeing women take dominant roles in society, and a woman in charge of a major business or a country is not especially unusual.

In the 15th century though, the position of women was very different. They had to be subservient to men and held a lower place in society. They were expected to do as they were told. In this context, Joan is remarkable indeed.

Yet the initial stage directions identify Joan as an ordinary country girl. She is dressed in ordinary clothes and she behaves in the ordinary, unaffected way of someone from the country. The people of the aristocracy, with whom she would normally have no contact, do not scare her.

Yet Shaw also gives subtle hints of her special character. She is dressed in red, the colour of energy and passion. Joan is a girl of action, not thought. She has visions and deep religious faith. Nevertheless, she is not given to introspection (looking into her own mind and examining her own thoughts) on stage. Instead, she is someone who allows her actions to speak for her. She is anxious to get on and do something in order to change the situation for the better. Red suits her character well.

She is also described as having 'eyes very wide apart and bulging as they often do in very imaginative people'.

So she is ordinary in the sense of her birth, occupation and position in society. But she is extraordinary in the power of her imagination, which allows her to believe in the 'voices', which she thinks brings her God's will. She also has extraordinary will power. She will take whatever action she believes to be right in order to follow God's orders, and she will not permit any resistance.

She is not self-conscious. Even though she challenges the role of men and of the Church in her society - she alters the course of history by chasing out the English from France - she is not at all aware of the extent of her influence; she just does what she believes has to be done.