Summary
The epilogue opens on a June night in 1456. King Charles is in bed, reading, and is startled when Ladvenu abruptly enters the room. Ladvenu is eager to announce that Joan's name has finally been cleared. This hearing was disorderly, full of lies and corruption, but it resulted in the truth finally being revealed. Charles expresses his relief: restoring Joan's reputation also legitimizes his own reign. Charles also cynically points out that if Joan were to come back to life, people would just burn her again. Ladvenu leaves the room in anger.
Suddenly, a vision of Joan appears. Charles proudly reports to her that he has become good at warfare, and also that the men involved in her trial have been found to be corrupt. Joan points out that she was still burnt, and she seems unmoved by this news. Cauchon appears in the dream vision as well, explaining that after his death, his body was dug up, excommunicated, and desecrated. Nonetheless, he still thinks he did everything right. Dunois appears, explaining that he is still alive, but is present in spirit. He kept his promise to Joan, driving out the English, and he also argued in favor of her case being retried. Another common soldier joins them, singing. He is the soldier who gave Joan a cross during her execution; even though he went to Hell after his death, this one action allows him to have one day every year when he can leave Hell. De Stogumber joins them, explaining that after witnessing Joan's execution he became a humble preacher and dedicated his life to good works. The Executioner and Warwick also show up.
A Gentleman enters, wearing clothes from the 1920s. The medieval characters laugh at his strange clothing, but he focuses on delivering his message that Joan has been declared a saint. Visions of statues being raised in her honor, in both France and England, appear, and Joan feels happy. With everyone praising her, Joan asks if she ought to come back to life. Quickly, everyone tells her that this is a terrible idea. All of the other men vanish, leaving Joan alone with the common soldier. He reassures her not to listen to powerful people and to be true to herself. Then, a bell chimes, summoning him back to Hell. Joan is left alone; she wonders aloud when Earth will be ready to receive God's saints.
Analysis
Shaw's epilogue allows him to explore the longer-term consequences of Joan's actions, as well as highlighting later historical events. After Joan's execution, Charles went on to enjoy a long and successful reign in which he led the French forces to numerous victories. The Hundred Years' War is typically considered to have ended by 1453. Although they suffered decades of casualties, the French emerged from the war with a stronger sense of unity. The English also lost all of their French territories except for Calais, and the dream of a united English and French throne was ended forever. After Joan's execution, her mother and other allies tirelessly fought for a retrial; eventually, they were able to secure an additional trial. This trial found that, indeed, Joan was innocent. Shaw sets his epilogue at the moment when this decision has been reached.
The epilogue brings together nearly all of the play's characters, some of which were living and many of which were dead in July 1456. The structure of the epilogue creates an opportunity for characters to reflect on their behavior and how they have changed. De Stogumber, for example, has entirely reformed his moral outlook and the way he lives. He speaks movingly of the way that seeing Joan's suffering motivated him to change. The common English soldier has also been partially redeemed by a gesture of kindness which Joan inspired in him. Shaw wryly sets up a scenario in which he is mostly damned yet given a brief respite because of the small mercy he showed her. Cauchon has had the opposite reversal: from his esteemed position, his reputation has been ruined. Although the account of his body being dug up is not likely historically accurate, Cauchon was posthumously excommunicated in 1457 for his role in falsely persecuting Joan.
The epilogue shows not only the initial recovery of Joan's reputation: it also alludes to a future in which she will be remembered and celebrated as a saint and a beloved historical figure. All of the men, many of whom were sometimes doubtful of Joan during her lifetime, now seem unanimous in their support and respect for her. At first, Joan seems to take a nonplussed approach in which she argues that anything that happens after her execution is irrelevant to her. However, she gradually seems to become more pleased with the attention and adoration she is receiving. As her enjoyment peaks, Joan suggests that perhaps she should return so that she can experience this type of support in real life.
This comment reveals that Joan's spirit remains naive and idealistic, just as she was in life. She takes men who have shown themselves to be slippery politicians at their word, and she thinks they mean what they say. This misconception is immediately revealed when all of the men make it clear that they wouldn't support Joan if she came back to life. This scene echoes the moment earlier in the play when Joan sought allies for her attack on Paris and all of her supposed supporters made it clear they would not stand up for her. Some of them make darkly comic excuses, indicating the bland bureaucratic speech often used to cover up moral failings.
Strikingly, the only man who stays with Joan is the common soldier. This moment echoes the Biblical scene at the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus laments that his supposedly loyal followers have all fallen asleep and abandoned him. Even the soldier has to eventually leave since he is being called back to Hell. In the final moment of the play, Joan is left utterly alone. Shaw seems to indicate that this alienation is the price someone must pay for being a true visionary. During his own lifetime, Shaw was often criticized for the sometimes radical views he espoused. Karma Waltonen argues for this kinship between the two when she writes that "he was more interested in the individual, the spirit and genius that were capable of transcending the body. In Shaw's vision, Joan has at least partially fulfilled that transcendence and, like himself, has been made abject because of her superiority" (pg. 187). Likewise, Joan can only receive praise and celebration after her lifetime. As someone who truly calls out for change and tries to make the world a better place, she will never be welcomed or supported because most people would rather maintain the status quo.
