Saint Joan of Arc (1412-1431) was a pious medieval French girl who transcended gender roles. During the Medieval times, gender roles were rigid, and society was wholly patriarchal. Men dominated feudal society, and – unlike women – they were publicly active, participating in political, social, and military matters. Whilst men were the breadwinners, women were confined to the public sphere, however Joan of Arc was not one of these women. She assumed the traditionally male role of a military leader, whilst maintaining her status as a valiant woman. She defied the patriarchy by transcending traditional masculine and feminine roles. Such defiance is what made her the legendary medieval heroine who is still admired to this day.
Joan of Arc was born in the midst of the Hundred Years’ War between England and France. Her ‘uniqueness’ came to surface in her teen years when she claimed she could hear the voices of saints. She claimed the voices told her to drive English forces out of France so that Charles VII – the then heir to the French throne – could be crowned King. Within said mission, Joan took a vow of chastity, and despite the pressures placed on her to marry, she stayed loyal to her vow. Her abstinence is only one example of her transcendence of gender roles. Women were perceived as mere vessels whose only purpose was to childbear, yet Joan refused to carry out the ‘duty’ of bearing children, thus making her somewhat extraordinary.
In May 1428, Joan made her way to Vaucouleurs, a French stronghold full of men loyal to Charles VII. Initially turned away by local magistrate, Robert de Baudricourt, Joan pressed her case and gained a small band of followers who deemed her the legendary virgin destined to save France. Following Baudricourt’s eventual relention, Joan adopted an androgynous style by cutting her hair and fashioning traditionally male clothes. She first did this when she met Charles, yet kept this fashion going, thus defying traditional gender roles. Some historians perceive her androgynous dress sense as a method to avoid sexual assault, others argue she saw cross-dressing as a sacred duty.
On her meeting with Charles Joan asked him for an army to lead. Against the advice of his counselors and generals, Charles granted her request and in March of 1429 she set out for Orleans. Although she never fought in battle, she led the charge in several battles. Joan led the French forces to several victories over the English. In a turn of events, Joan was separated from her soldiers in 1430, and had no choice but to surrender to the English who put her on trial. She was charged with witchcraft and crimes against the church. Despite attempts from judges to make her repent for wearing ‘male attire’, she continued to uphold her androgynous style, yet eventually lost her battle when she was forced into signing a confession stating she had never received divine guidance. Despite her further acts of resistance, she was burnt at the stake on the 30th May 1431, aged just nineteen.
Joan spent her life defying authority by wearing non traditional clothing, persistently defending herself, and rebelling against feminine social expectations by refusing to repeat herself in public settings. By launching herself into the public eye, Joan went against the social expectation that women should confine themselves to the domestic sphere. In a rare manner, Joan belonged to the sphere of action rather than domesticity. She believed in her cause and defiantly transcended gender roles, thus establishing herself as the legendary medieval heroine who is still admired to this day.