Time and Again

St. Joan By George Bernard Shaw Play Summary

In 1429 A.D., a young country girl known simply as Joan of Arc, or sometimes simply as The Maid, is given an interview by Robert de Baudricourt since she will not leave until she speaks with him. She tells him that she needs horses and armor to go to the Dauphin of France and to raise the siege of Orleans, a city held captive by the English forces. She knows that a siege would be possible because the voices of Saints Margaret and Catherine have told her what to do. Upon being convinced by The Maid's simplicity, Captain de Baudricourt grants her request.

Upon arriving at the Dauphin's castle, The Maid encounters all sorts of difficulties, especially with the Dauphin, who wants nothing to do with wars and fighting. When France's military fortunes and predicament are reviewed, Joan's demands that something be done to improve France's condition fall on deaf ears, but when she is alone with the Dauphin, she is able to instill enough courage in him so that he finally consents to let her lead the army, knowing full well that she can't make France's condition worse.

Joan then goes to the Loire River near Orleans, where she encounters Dunois, the commander of the French forces; he explains the necessity of waiting until the wind changes, but Joan is determined to lead her forces against the English stronghold without waiting; suddenly, the wind does change favorably, and Dunois pledges his allegiance to The Maid.

Sometime later, in the English camp, Warwick, the leader of the English forces, and his chaplain, de Stogumber, are maintaining that The Maid must be a witch because there is no other way of accounting for the heavy English losses and defeats except by sorcery.

The Bishop of Beauvais, Peter Cauchon, enters and discusses the fate of Joan of Arc. Cauchon's principal intellectual concern is that Joan is setting up her own private conscience in place of the authority of the Church. Warwick, who is not influenced by...