Intercourse, by: Andrea Dworkin - Feminish

yet, including the Nazis, has killed what she created: France. Ather trial,Asked why she, sooner than another,She answered: It pleased G od so to do, by means o f asimple maid to drive back the king’s enemies. *The Church, in ongoing if not particularly credible remorse, issueda series of apologies for burning her. In 1456, she was “rehabilitated”by papal decree—essentially the Church concededthat she had not been a witch. Charles needed her namecleared once he won, because of her prominence at his coronation;* the Church cooperated with him as it had with the Englishwhen it burned her. In 1869, the case for canonizing Joanwas placed before the Vatican: a hiatus in reparation of overfour hundred years. In 1903, Joan was designated as Venerable.In 1909 she was beatified. In 1920 she became Saint Joan. TheChurch that killed her may now identify her as a martyr; but forwomen inspired by her legend, she is a martial hero luminouswith genius and courage, an emblem of possibility and potentialityconsistently forbidden, obliterated, or denied by the rigidtyranny of sex-role imperatives or the outright humiliation ofsecond-class citizenship. Women have many martyrs, manyvaliant pacifists, sung and unsung; few heroes who made war.We know how to die, also how not to kill; Joan inexplicablyknew how to make war. At her trial, Joan insisted that she had*Carrying her combat banner, Joan stood next to Charles at his coronation.Asked at her trial why her banner was given such prominence, sheanswered: “ It had borne the pain, it was reason enough it should have thehonor. ” Warner, Jean o f Arc, p. 166.