Summary
The play opens on a spring morning in the year 1429. The first scene is set in the castle of Vaucouleurs, in France. Captain Robert de Baudricourt is expressing his annoyance to his steward (an employee in charge of running large homes and estates on behalf of the nobility). The chickens are not laying eggs, and Robert is frustrated because the cows are also not producing milk. He suggests that the steward might be stealing these foodstuffs, but the steward explains that the lack of milk and eggs can be attributed to a curse from God. He tells his master that until Robert agrees to meet with "the Maid" (a nickname for Joan), the chickens and cows will not return to their normal behavior. Joan has been waiting for two days to see Robert, but he has stubbornly refused to meet with her. In the meantime, she has been spending time with the soldiers and praying. Robert has urged his steward to send her away, but the steward has not done so. He notes that Joan seems full of courage and conviction, which works to motivate the people around her.
Frustrated, Robert calls out from the window, telling Joan to come up. While he waits for her, the steward explains that Joan has come to the castle seeking armor and a sword so that she can be attired like a soldier. Joan enters the room and calmly tells Robert that she wants a horse, armor, and some soldiers. She is going to seek a meeting with the Dauphin (the term for the French heir to the throne). Robert responds by telling Joan that her requests are outrageous, but she reacts calmly and explains that God will change his mind, just as God has led him to finally meet with her. She also explains that the items she requests are necessary because she is going to break the siege of Orleans (a French city besieged by English troops). Robert is shocked at Joan's plan, but she simply explains that she has already persuaded three of Robert's soldiers to go with her, including a man named Polly (a nickname for Bertrand de Poulengy). Joan is confident that if Robert helps her, he will go to Heaven after his death, and she mentions speaking with Saint Catherine and Saint Margaret.
Robert orders Joan out of the room so that he can confer privately with Bertrand de Poulengy. When Poulengy enters, Robert explains his assumption: Poulengy is pretending to support Joan's military goals so that he can get her alone and seduce her. Robert explains that Joan is not a simple country girl: her family is actually middle-class, and there could be complications for Poulengy if he were to seduce her. Poulengy, however, rejects Robert's theory, explaining that he and his men are genuinely inspired by Joan. France is in a desperate situation: the Dauphin is not an effective leader, and now his own mother is denying that he is the legitimate heir. Poulengy feels that unless a miracle takes place, Orleans is going to be lost to the English. He offers to pay for Joan's horse himself.
Robert calls Joan back in and asks her about what it is like when she hears the voices of the saints. Joan doesn't give many details but insists that the messages she receives are genuinely God's plan. God has told her that it is her destiny to end the siege of Orleans, see the Dauphin crowned at Rheims Cathedral, and eventually drive the English out of France altogether. Joan does not think the English are inherently bad, but she believes they have been given their own lands to rule over, and that it is a sin to try to seize lands that belong to other people, who speak a different language. Robert insists that a soldier's obligation is to serve his lord and commander, but Joan counters by arguing that a man's highest obligation is to God. Robert tries to frighten Joan by referring to the fierceness of English soldiers. Joan is unimpressed; she got to know three wounded English soldiers in her home village of Domremy. She also argues that if the French soldiers were truly inspired by the right leader and believed they were fighting in service of God and their country, they would be more successful.
Robert tells Polly that he sees some merit to this argument: he is still suspicious of Joan, but she might be able to inspire the soldiers, and, more important, the Dauphin. He agrees to give Joan the things she has asked for, and he tells her to go with Polly and the other soldiers to see the Dauphin. Polly wonders how Joan will get access to the Dauphin, but Robert responds that she was able to get an audience with him. Joan leaves in excitement, followed by Polly. When Robert is alone, the steward returns with a basket of eggs. The hens have started laying again. Robert wonders if everything Joan has said could actually be true.
Analysis
The play opens in medias res, or in the middle of action that has already been unfolding. There is an immediate juxtaposition between a large scale and small scale crisis: a war is raging and the entire fate of France is at risk. However, the more immediate problem facing Robert de Baudricourt is that his chickens are not laying eggs. Especially in the context of the 100 Years' War, which lasted so long that multiple generations lived without ever knowing peace, mundane realities of life still go on even in the middle of warfare. However, as Shaw hints, larger political events are likely also part of why Robert displays such irritation about seemingly insignificant things. By 1429, France had been experiencing almost 15 years of steady losses, ever since the English King Henry V had reopened attacks and won a decisive victory at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. Internal divisions also meant that a group of French nobles (known as the Burgundians) was allied with and fighting alongside the English. Most importantly, the French were lacking strong leadership. In 1420, the Dauphin Charles had been cut out of the line of succession to the French throne. In order to justify this move, his legitimacy had been called into question (hence the comments in the play about his mother having questioned his paternity). Upon the death of Charles's father in 1422, the French crown was supposed to have passed onto Henry V, potentially uniting the two kingdoms. However, since both kings died within months of each other, and Henry V left an infant son as his heir, Charles was able to assert his claim. Still, seven years later, he has not been officially crowned (this is why he is referred to as "Dauphin" rather than "King" in the first few scenes of the play).
Robert is a shrewd and pragmatic man. He seeks logical rather than mystical or emotional explanations. He is utterly unconvinced by the possibility that Joan is actually hearing heavenly voices, but he also doesn't know how else to explain what is happening. Robert shows his pragmatism and earthy outlook when he assumes Poulengy is pretending to believe in Joan so that he can eventually seduce her. Robert doesn't pass any moral judgment on the other soldier for experiencing these desires: his only concern is making sure that his friend doesn't get implicated in a scandal. Living in a time of war, Robert does not have high ideals about morality or people's motivations: he knows that most people will do whatever they can get away with. However, Poulengy is the first of many characters to suggest that there is something special about Joan. He is not fully convinced that she is actually a divine messenger, but he knows that she has charisma and the ability to inspire others. For Poulengy, whether Joan is divinely inspired is irrelevant: she has the potential to turn the tide of the war because she can get people to believe in her.
Joan is unfazed by the skepticism and criticism she receives. She is totally unwavering in her faith and in her conviction that she will be successful. Even though she is proposing risky and radical actions, Joan is very matter of fact. She focuses on practical actions and doesn't question what might happen in the future. Her complete self-confidence and conviction are likely part of why she quickly wins the trust of the soldiers and eventually persuades Robert to listen to her. At the very least, Robert is curious to see how far she can get with her seemingly crazy schemes. The seeming miracle of the chickens starting to lay eggs after Robert agrees to Joan's demands signals to the audience that there might actually be something special about her. On the other hand, it could be a strange coincidence. Throughout the play, Shaw will avoid taking sides or clarifying Joan's inspiration. Readers are forced to wonder for themselves to what extent Joan is a miracle, which aligns them with the confusion and uncertainty experienced by many characters in the play.
Joan's gender and social status strongly contribute to why her claims strike many other characters as ludicrous. At a time when gender roles were rigidly defined, women were not expected to take on any sort of leadership role, especially related to military affairs or politics. Joan's ability to have both common soldiers and powerful noblemen listen to her arguments is even more surprising when considered in this context. Robert also makes it clear that someone from a peasant farming family would not typically be taken seriously, nor even allowed to meet with someone of his rank. He may believe that Joan is never going to be allowed to meet with the Dauphin anyways and that he is simply setting her up to fail. Nonetheless, long before Joan leads soldiers into battle, readers see her winning a major victory: she convinces a deeply skeptical man to give her a chance. Her logic, calm, and strength of self stand out in a chaotic historical moment, and at a time when so many others are clearly just acting in their own self-interest. As Joan herself explains, the people of France need something, or someone, to believe in.
