No, you don't know how Joan of Arc felt.
Joan of Arc was born on a farm from a peasant farmer, in Domremy France. At the age of 13, she had a revelation. She believed that she needed to lead France to victory over the English. Today, she is called St. Joan of Arc, due to her command by god to save France. Joan of Arc was an extreme catholic, so during this revelation, she claimed to have had a vision of saint Michael surrounded by angels. Many of you may have heard various stories about Joan of Arc. Ranging from 'she's a feminist" to "this woman was straight crazy". I would like to clear everything up in this blog.
During her time, Joan was seen as crazy and psychologically disfigured. Joan was burned at the stake in 1431 for heresy, along with her and the whole hearing voices part. Scholars say today, Joan of Arc would have been diagnosed with schizophrenia as well as partial epilepsy. Scholars today would have diagnosed with her with some sort of mental illness, and find that her death by burning due to hearing voices was not justified.
Now to explain the title, some may know the classic lyric from The Smiths song "Bigmouth Strikes Again". The lyric reads:
And now I know how Joan of Arc feltNow I know how Joan of Arc feltAs the flames rose to her Roman noseAnd her walkman started to melt
Now, I personally love The Smiths, though this lyric strikes curiosity in me. The meaning behind this song was to express a members frustration with the music industry. This lyric represented how the member felt misunderstood and connected to Joan of Arc's unspoken nature. He feels that he will never be able to change, or stop being a bigmouth.
To clarify, no one today or really ever will know how Joan of Arc felt. Joan of Arc is seen as a bold and outspoken figure, and to some a feminist. Though, she never argued in favor of women's suffrage, she was most likely facing mental challenges, and she was a 13 year old girl who was burned to death due to her rejection to church authority. I feel that it is odd to compare yourself to someone due to the fact that all one knows is that the person was 'misunderstood".
Other songs containing the mention of Joan of Arc:
Joan of Arc: Arcade Fire
Joan of Arc: Little Mix
Joan of Arc: Leonard Cohen
Sources:
-https://www.worldhistory.org#organization. (n.d.). World history encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia RSS. https://www.worldhistory.org/
-University of Oregon. (n.d). Blogs.uoregon.edu. https://blogs.uoregon.edu/
-The Smiths – Bigmouth Strikes Again. (n.d.). Genius.com. https://genius.com/The-smiths-bigmouth-strikes-again-lyrics
You make some really good points here. Although I too think the writers weren't exactly saying "now I know how Joan of Arch felt" literally it strikes me odd why they chose her specifically instead of any other 'misunderstood' person. It almost feels slightly insensitive even though I doubt that was their intention.
ReplyDeleteThis topic is really interesting. When I first read the title I was very confused but you made some great points. I agree with you and I understand where your thinking is coming from. Good Job Brianna.
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