Joan of Arc: The Epitome of Womanhood Joan of Arc was one of the women during the old ages that introduced the real definition of what it is like to embrace the capabilities and strengths of being a woman in society. Saint Joan was just a teenage peasant girl who never had a touch of education her entire life but with her bravery and faith to God, she was able to stand before the world and lead the French army in a momentous victory at Orleans in the year 1429. Saint Joan was a courageous woman of her time, she took on a male role and acted as a male acted. With that, Saint was able to portray strong feminism. Saint Joan showed women that they can be strong and succeed too as men do (Soltis, 2020). This embodiment I can say is a representation of Cultural Feminism. Bryc (2013) stated that cultural feminism is a movement that points out how modern society is hurt by encouraging masculine behavior, but society would benefit by encouraging feminine behavior instead. Moreover, since by nature women are viewed as kinder and gentler than men, it follows that if women were in power, the world would be a better place. Excluding the statement that says “the society is better than women”, Saint Joan incorporated cultural feminism for the reason that she proved that despite being a woman, she was also able to transform the world into a better world and that the society can also benefit from women just like men. In addition to this, according to Lewis (2019), cultural feminism also tends to value qualities identified with women as superior or and preferable to qualities identified with men, whether the qualities are products of nature or culture. Saint Joan, with her will and courage to lead a war despite being a woman proved that there are also some qualities that women have that will always be superior than that of men. Saint Joan’s qualities of being faithful to God was formed by culture as her Mother taught her to be devoted to the Catholic Church. Moving on, Saint Joan’s behaviors and actions during her time that were completely different in a good way compared to other women were also the great factors that contributed to her portrayal of feminism. The year 1429 wherein Saint Joan started to be known was in the Middle ages. According to Dunn (1987), women’s character, behaviors and actions during the Middle Ages consist of specific attributions such as chastity, modesty, humility, constancy, temperance, piety, patience, and kindness. Women’s behaviors were also carefully prescribed. They are to tend to their household duties industriously, must be silent most of the time and not speak out or argue, and must never be witty or clever. Saint Joan was the complete opposite of these women during her time— she was fierce and brave, she was intelligent despite not having education, she did not just stay home and do nothing while her country was fighting war and she was not silent as she spoke out her arguments about God speaking to her. These characteristics and behaviors of Saint Joan repulsed everything the society said about women. All in all, Joan of Arc was indeed a real hero and an epitome of what a real woman is. She must be one of the role models our modern society of women should look up today. If all women out there incorporate even just half of her personality then the nation that women are weak would probably be terminated. References Bryce, S. (2013, March 14). Feminism Types and Definitions: Liberal, Socialist, Culture & Radical. Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/feminism-types- and-definitionsliberal-socialist-culture-radical.html. Soltis, J. (2020, March 27). Joan of Arc: Role in Feminism. Retrieved from https://web.njit.edu/~soltis/writing/woman%20succeed.doc Lewis, J. (2019, May 30). Cultural Feminism: What Is the Essence of Being a Woman? Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/cultural-feminism-definition-3528996 Dunn, Catherine M. “The Changing Image of Woman in Renaissance Society and Literature.” What Manner of Woman. Ed. Marlene Springer. New York: NYU Press, 1977. 15-38
