French HEroine

Joan as a French Heroine

Joan of Arc, born in modern-day France, is fittingly seen as a symbol of France. In her homeland, she is a key historical figure, but here in the United States, her context is a bit different. Part of the reason for her significance in America just before and after the turn of the century is the Francophile culture of the US and our entry into the First World War on the side of the Entente.

"Joan of Arc, They Are Calling You"

The song clip to the left is a song from 1917. The lyrics are of French soldiers calling out to Joan of Arc for help, with the chorus being:

"Joan of Arc, Joan of Arc,
Do your eyes, from the skies, see the foe?
Don't you see the drooping fleur-de-lis?
Can't you hear the tears of Normandy?
Joan of Arc, Joan of Arc,
Let your spirit guide us through.
Come lead your France to victory;
Joan of Arc, they are calling you"

American Support for France in the Homefront

The ever-popular Maid of France symbolized France's war effort in the United States. This poster was created by the United States Treasury Department, which calls on women to buy War Savings Stamps. This is how those in the United States could support the war effort, in comparison to how Joan of Arc Saved France.

United States Treasury Department, "Joan of Arc Poster, World War I," 1914-1918. Library of Congress, Public Domain.

Courtesy of IMDb

The Fight for France in DeMille's Joan the Woman (1916)

The 1916 movie about Joan of Arc by Cecil B. DeMille is a commentary on the then-ongoing war in Europe. While the US had not joined the war at this point –– America entered the following year –– this film showed the American public the virtue of the fight in Europe. This film has an English WWI officer dream of being in the time of Joan and waking back up in the trenches fighting the Germans. Both in the officer's dream and reality, the French homeland is being fought for against a foreign invader. While during the time of Joan of Arc, she fought against the English, the officer is fighting against the Germans. In both wars, the land of France is being defended.

Revival of Twain's Personal Recollections (1896)

Mark Twain's novel about Joan of Arc, Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc by the Sieur Louis de Conte, had a slight revival just after WWI. In 1919, an abridged version of the decades-old novel was published with illustrations by the famous illustrator Howard Pyle.

A. F. Bradley, "Mark Twain," 1907

Courtesy of the University of Illinois Library

The Broken Soldier and The Maid of France (1919)

This historical novel, written just after the end of WWI, is set in France during the Hundred Years' War. A Frenchman loses the will to fight, but comes across the young Joan of Arc and embraces her divine mission to return to the fight for France.

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