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I hope it will surrender. But if that city refuses to surrender, I'll lead the army towards the walls of Compiègne. I am counting on you, Duke of Alençon. You've always been faithful to me, and I hope you will accompany me again, in the new campaigns that I'm going to undertake. (After a pause.) I will confide in you, I fear only one thing: treason!... THE DUKE Oh Joan! who could be such an enemy of the Fatherland as to betray you?... you are innocence, gallantry itself... Count on my devotion. I will give you faithful companionship, at the risk of my life, if need be... JOAN La Trémouille knows how attached you are to me; in fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see him using all his strength to separate us.... After all, nothing can happen that God has not foreseen for all eternity; this thought gives me great courage when I think about the future. THE DUKE It's late, you must be tired. Go take a rest. Tomorrow, as the king has told you, you'll give your orders. They exit.
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Second Part THE CAPTIVITY, THE MARTYRDOM [Scene 1] The stage shows the prison. Joan is chained and alone, sitting on a rock. Some straw is visible on the ground, with a jug and some black bread. JOAN, singing (Melody:"Pourquoi m'avoir livré l'autre jour, ô ma Mère?"["Why Was I Handed Over the Other Day, O My Mother?"]) My voices have foretold it,
I'm a prisoner. I await help only from You, O my God.
For Your love alone, I left my old Father,
My flowered fields and skies forever blue.
For Your love only, I left my valley,
And showing the soldiers the sign of the cross,
Lord, in Your Name, I commanded the army,
The greatest generals heard my voice. (2x)
An obscure prison, behold my reward,
The prize of my labors, my blood and my tears.
I will not see again the places of my childhood,
My laughing prairie adorned with flowers.
I will not see again the distant mountain
Whose snowy peak blends with the azure.
And I will not hear again, from the hesitant bell,
That sweet, dreamy sound fill the pure air. (2x)
In my somber prison, I search in vain for the star
That sparkles at evening in the beautiful sky.
I look for the leaves that covered me
As I slept while guarding my flock.
Here, as I sleep in this tumult of tears,
I dream of perfumes, of the dew of dawn.
I dream of my valley, of the charming forest.
But the clank of my chains suddenly awakes me. (2x)
[Scene 2] Saint Margaret appears; seeing her, JOAN cries out:
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O Saint Margaret! how long you have been......SaintCatherine told me that my captivity would last three months, and those three months have gone by... At last you have come to save me!... Break my chains and let me return to my dear village of Domremy. SAINT MARGARET
sings to the tune of "Masque de fer" ["Iron Mask"]: No, Joan, I cannot yet break your chains,
To give you again your valleys and flowery fields.
But I've come down from Heaven to ease your pain.
I come to dry the tears from your eyes...
She goes to Joan, caresses her and, wipes her tears with her gold- spangled veil. JOAN
Then you have not come to save me?... Must I die before seeing the total triumph of France? But you have promised me that the kingdom of Saint Louis would preserve the Faith,you have assured my deliverance, and, see, I am in irons.... Ican no longer do anything to save my country!....
SAINT MARGARET , to the same tune.
Yes, I promised you, and victory is certain.
The kingdom of the French will keep the Faith....
Joan, in your prison, weighed down by chains,
You suffer for your God and you save your King. (2x)
JOAN
How mysterious your words are! I cannot grasp their meaning.... Saint Catherine spoke to me in the same way after a mistake of mine, when I leapt from the towers of Beaurevoir,
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to go to the help of the good people of Compiègne.... The bishop of Beauvais reproached me about this disobedience to my voices when he questioned me, but I have confessed and Saint Catherine told me that God has forgiven me. She also promised to come back, but I haven't seen her since I got here. I don't remember disobeying her... Oh! I beg you, ask her to come deliver me.... SAINT MARGARET ,
to the tune of "Dieu de paix et d'amour" ["God of Peace and Love"].
The Martyr will come, celebrating your victory.
She will place the palm in your hand.
To eternal glory she will show you
The luminous path. (2x)
[Scene 3]
Saint Margaret exits.
Jean Massieu enters, carrying some scrolls of parchment. Seeing this, JOAN gets up and says softly:
Ah! here's Jean Massieu. [JEAN MASSIEU] Joan, what were you doing when I came in? JOAN I was listening to the voice of Saint Margaret. JEAN MASSIEU How do your voices address you? Isn't it "daughter of God, great-hearted daughter, daughter of the Church"?... JOAN Yes, every day they speak to me they call me daughter of God, daughter of the Church. JEAN MASSIEU Since you are a daughter of the Church, why do you refuse© Washington Province of Discalced Carmelite Friars, Inc |
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RP3 16r
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to say the Pater Noster? JOAN I'll say it willingly. And, if I refused to say it the other day, it was just so Monsieur de Beauvais would hear my confession.
JEAN MASSIEU Why, then, after the King's coronation, were you so eager to be a godmother, and why did you let all the people kiss your clothes and your hands?... You've even let it be said that by your virtue a child has been raised from the dead.
JOAN I let my hands and clothes be kissed as little as possible, but it's true that I very much liked being a godmother and naming boys Charles and girls Joan.' As for the resurrection of the child, I didn't know his return to life had been credited to me and I'm convinced that God alone worked this great miracle.
[A loose page, 16bis, is slipped into the manuscript at this point. See the next file]
JEAN MASSIEU Are those who believe that you come on God's behalf deceiving themselves? JOAN No, they are not deceiving themselves, and I have offended God by telling the people that my voices do not come from Heaven. The false preacher who urged me in the name of the Church is more guilty than I; however, I'm willing to make amends for my fault by publicly confessing that
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