CONCLUSION

Above all, the name of Joan of Arc calls up the idea of a woman of strong convictions willing to challenge established authority in a matter of principle. There is probably not a country in the world, or a social or political movement, that has not named some courageous woman its “Joan of Arc.” For example:

Ecaterina Teodoroiu, the “Joan of Arc” of Romania (1894-1917)

Lakshmi Bai, the “Joan of Arc” of India (1827-58)

Juana Colon, the “Joan of Arc” of Comerio, Puerto Rico (1886-1967) Teresa Magbanua y Ferraris, the “Joan of Arc” of the Visayas (Philippines) (1868-1947)

Hannah Senesh (or Szenes), the “Joan of Arc” of Israel (1921-44)

Ida Tarbell, the “Joan of Arc” of the oil regions (1857-1944)

Linda Meissner, the “Joan of Arc” of the Jesus Movement (fl. 1960s-1970s)

Sister Sarah Clarke, the “Joan of Arc” of the English prisons (1919-2002) Yulia Tymoshenko, the “Joan of Arc” of the Orange Revolution (1960-) Tahirih (Fatimih Baraghani), the “Joan of Arc” of the Eastern world (1814/1817-52)

For Jules Michelet and former French president Charles de Gaulle, Joan of Arc was the spirit of France. For Americans during World War I she was a symbol of heroic sacrifice. In our day she is a lesbian for American playwright Carolyn Gage, a practitioner of the Old Religion for American novelist Ann Chamberlin, and the champion of French ultraconservatism for Jean-Marie LePen’s National Front party.

The image of an autonomous woman on horseback, clothed in armor, and carrying a sword is an archetype that stirs emotions and affects us in ways of which we might not even be aware. Joan of Arc is likely to endure as a powerful cultural icon for centuries to come.