Joan Of Arc's Deviance

The Deviance of Joan of Arc
Called upon by the divine, Joan of Arc claimed she was instructed at a young age by Saints Michael, Margaret, and Catherine to lead France in war to rid the French of the English. A peasant girl, Joan was called into a life of deviance at a young age (History.com, 2009). While cross-dressing, women leading armies, and standing up to the church were not approved of in the 1400’s, Joan did all of this and more.
Joan of Arc was deviant because she did many things that were not allowed or accepted for a female to do in her time period. She cross-dressed, led military campaigns, claimed to have a divine connection to saints, and was accused of heresy and witchcraft. By the age of eighteen, Joan was considered a national

When she was sixteen she asked a relative to take her to Vaucouleurs where she petitioned for an armed royal escort to the French Royal court. The court laughed at her, but that did not make her back down. She went back the following January with the support of a couple soldiers and that is when she began to gain the attention of others (Biography.com, 2017). After she was granted her escort, she disguised herself as a male soldier to pass through Burgundian territory. This would later lead to cross-dressing charges by the church. Joan ended up turning the Anglo-French war into a crusade. It is said that Joan carried the banner of her army into war, and that she never killed a single person. The theologians of the time did not have an opinion on her “divine visions”, which caused the church to be suspicious about her (Thurston,

She accompanied the Duke of Alencon on the journey to recapture bridges along the Loire, and he eventually started using her battle strategies. Joan was later credited with saving the Duke’s life. It was through her military service that she gained a lot of respect. Joan was later imprisoned by Burgundians. She tried to escape many times, and ended up jumping out of a window seventy feet high. When she was recaptured, the English moved her to Rouen. She had armies attempting to rescue her with military campaigns. In the end, Joan was charged with heresy, witchcraft, and cross-dressing. It is said by theologians that her trial for heresy was fixed by the church. She was burned at the stake, which is where she did accomplished one of her most deviant actions. As she burned, she demanded that a crucifix be held at eye level to her. In 1456 she was declared innocent on all charges (Biography.com, 2017). I feel the Sociological explanation that best explains the actions of Joan is Symbolic Interactionism. Her escapade had entirely to do with religious teachings, her inner conscience, and the desire to do good. She worked to expel a king that was unfit to run France, gain independence from the English for France, and sacrificed her life in doing