The Maid of Orleans

SCENE IV

Spectators occupy the background; BERTRAND, CLAUDE MARIE, and ETIENNE come forward; then MARGOT and LOUISON. The Coronation march is heard in the distance.

BERTRAND   Hark to the music! They approach already!   What had we better do? Shall we mount up   Upon the platform, or press through the crowd,   That we may nothing lose of the procession?ETIENNE   It is not to be thought of. All the streets   Are thronged with horsemen and with carriages.   Beside these houses let us take our stand,   Here we without annoyance may behold   The train as it goes by.CLAUDE MARIE                 Almost it seems   As were the half of France assembled here,   So mighty is the flood that it hath reached   Even our distant Lotharingian land   And borne us thither!BERTRAND               Who would sit at home   When great events are stirring in the land!   It hath cost plenty, both of sweat and blood,   Ere the crown rested on its rightful head!   Nor shall our lawful king, to whom we give   The crown, be worse accompanied than he   Whom the Parisians in St. Denis crowned!   He is no loyal, honest-minded man   Who doth absent him from this festival,   And joins not in the cry: "God save the King!"

SCENE V

MARGOT and LOUISON join them.

LOUISON   We shall again behold our sister, Margot!   How my heart beats!MARGOT              In majesty and pomp   We shall behold her, saying to ourselves:   It is our sister, it is our Johanna!LOUISON   Till I have seen her, I can scarce believe   That she, whom men the Maid of Orleans name,   The mighty warrior, is indeed Johanna,   Our sister whom we lost![The music draws nearer.MARGOT                Thou doubtest still!   Thou wilt thyself behold her!BERTRAND                   See, they come!

SCENE VI

Musicians, with flutes and hautboys, open the procession. Children follow, dressed in white, with branches in their hands; behind them two heralds. Then a procession of halberdiers, followed by magistrates in their robes. Then two marshals with their staves; the DUKE of BURGUNDY, bearing the sword; DUNOIS with the sceptre, other nobles with the regalia; others with sacrificial offerings. Behind these, KNIGHTS with the ornaments of their order; choristers with incense; two BISHOPS with the ampulla; the ARCHBISHOP with the crucifix. JOHANNA follows, with her banner, she walks with downcast head and wavering steps; her sisters, on beholding her, express their astonishment and joy. Behind her comes the KING under a canopy, supported by four barons; courtiers follow, soldiers conclude the procession; as soon as it has entered the church the music ceases.

SCENE VII

LOUISON, MARGOT, CLAUDE MARIE, ETIENNE, BERTRAND.

MARGOT   Saw you our sister?CLAUDE MARIE              She in golden armor,   Who with the banner walked before the king?MARGOT   It was Johanna. It was she, our sister!LOUISON   She recognized us not! She did not feel   That we, her sisters, were so near to her.   She looked upon the ground, and seemed so pale,   And trembled so beneath her banner's weight   When I beheld her, I could not rejoice.MARGOT   So now, arrayed in splendor and in pomp,   I have beheld our sister – who in dreams   Would ever have imagined or conceived,   When on our native hills she drove the flock,   That we should see her in such majesty?LOUISON   Our father's dream is realized, that we   In Rheims before our sister should bow down.   That is the church, which in his dream he saw   And each particular is now fulfilled.   But images of woe he also saw!   Alas! I'm grieved to see her raised so high!BERTRAND   Why stand we idly here? Let's to the church   To view the coronation!MARGOT                Yes! perchance   We there may meet our sister; let us go!LOUISON   We have beheld her. Let us now return   Back to our village.MARGOT              How? Ere we with her   Have interchanged a word?LOUISON                 She doth belong   To us no longer; she with princes stands   And monarchs. Who are we, that we should seek   With foolish vanity to near her state?   She was a stranger while she dwelt with us!MARGOT   Will she despise, and treat us with contempt?BERTRAND   The king himself is not ashamed of us,   He kindly greets the meanest of the crowd.   How high soever she may be exalted,   The king is raised still higher![Trumpets and kettle-drums are heard from the church.CLAUDE MARIE   Let's to the church![They hasten to the background, where they are lost among the crowd.

SCENE VIII

THIBAUT enters, clad in black. RAIMOND follows him, and tries to hold him back.

RAIMOND   Stay, father Thibaut! Do not join the crowds!   Here, at this joyous festival you meet   None but the happy, whom your grief offends.   Come! Let us quit the town with hasty steps.THIBAUT   Hast thou beheld my child? My wretched child?   Didst thou observe her?RAIMMOND                I entreat you, fly!THIBAUT   Didst mark her tottering and uncertain steps,   Her countenance, so pallid and disturbed?   She feels her dreadful state; the hour is come   To save my child, and I will not neglect it.[He is about to retire.RAIMOND   What would you do?THIBAUT             Surprise her, hurl her down   From her vain happiness, and forcibly   Restore her to the God whom she denies.RAIMOND   Oh, do not work the ruin of your child!THIBAUT   If her soul lives, her mortal part may die.[JOHANNA rushes out of the church, without her banner. The people press around her, worship her, and kiss her garments. She is detained in the background by the crowd.She comes! 'tis she! She rushes from the church.Her troubled conscience drives her from the fane!'Tis visibly the judgment of her God!RAIMOND   Farewell! Require not my attendance further!   Hopeful I came, and sorrowful depart.   Your daughter once again I have beheld,   And feel again that she is lost to me![He goes out. THIBAUT retires on the opposite side.

SCENE IX

JOHANNA, People. Afterwards her Sisters.

JOHANNA (she has freed herself from the crowd and comes forward)   Remain I cannot – spirits chase me forth!   The organ's pealing tones like thunder sound,   The dome's arched roof threatens to overwhelm me!   I must escape and seek heaven's wide expanse!   I left my banner in the sanctuary,   Never, oh, never, will I touch it more!   It seemed to me as if I had beheld   My sisters pass before me like a dream.   'Twas only a delusion! – they, alas!   Are far, far distant – inaccessible —   E'en as my childhood, as mine innocence!MARGOT (stepping forward)   'Tis she! It is Johanna!LOUISON (hastening toward her)                 Oh, my sister!JOHANNA   Then it was no delusion – you are here —   Thee I embrace, Louison! Thee, my Margot?   Here in this strange and crowded solitude,   I clasp once more my sisters' faithful breasts!MARGOT   She knows us still, she is our own kind sister.JOHANNA   Your love hath led you to me here so far!   So very far! You are not wroth with her   Who left her home without one parting word!LOUISON   God's unseen providence conducted thee.MARGOT   Thy great renown, which agitates the world,   Which makes thy name the theme of every tongue,   Hath in our quiet village wakened us,   And led us hither to this festival.   To witness all thy glory we are come;   And we are not alone!JOHANNA (quickly)               Our father's here!   Where is he? Why doth he conceal himself?MARGOT   Our father is not with us.JOHANNA                 Not with you?   He will not see me, then! You do not bring   His blessing for his child?LOUISON                  He knoweth not   That we are here.JOHANNA             Not know it! Wherefore not?   You are embarrassed, and you do not speak;   You look upon the ground! Where is our father?MARGOT   Since thou hast left —LOUISON (making a sign to MARGOT)               Margot!MARGOT                    Our father hath   Become dejected.JOHANNA            Ah!LOUISON               Console thyself!   Our sire's foreboding spirit well thou knowest!   He will collect himself, and be composed,   When he shall learn from us that thou art happy.MARGOT   And thou art happy? Yes, it must be so,   For thou art great and honored!JOHANNA                    I am so,   Now I again behold you, once again   Your voices hear, whose fond, familiar tones   Bring to my mind my dear paternal fields.   When on my native hills I drove my herd,   Then I was happy as in paradise —   I ne'er can be so more, no, never more![She hides her face on LOUISON'S bosom. CLAUDE MARIE, ETIENNE, and BERTRAND appear, and remain timidly standing in the distance.MARGOT   Come, Bertrand! Claude Marie! come, Etienne!   Our sister is not proud: she is so gentle,   And speaks so kindly, – more so than of yore,   When in our village she abode with us.[They draw near, and hold out their hands; JOHANNA gazes on them fixedly, and appears amazed.JOHANNA   Where am I? Tell me! Was it all a dream,   A long, long dream? And am I now awake?   Am I away from Dom Remi? Is't so?   I fell asleep beneath the Druid tree,   And I am now awake; and round me stand   The kind, familiar forms? I only dreamed   Of all these battles, kings, and deeds of war, —   They were but shadows which before me passed;   For dreams are always vivid 'neath that tree.   How did you come to Rheims? How came I here?   No, I have never quitted Dom Remi!   Confess it to me, and rejoice my heart.LOUISON   We are at Rheims. Thou hast not merely dreamed   Of these great deeds – thou hast achieved them all.   Come to thyself, Johanna! Look around —   Thy splendid armor feel, of burnished gold![JOHANNA lays her hand upon her breast, recollects herself, and shrinks back.BERTRAND   Out of my hand thou didst receive this helm.CLAUDE MARIE   No wonder thou shouldst think it all a dream;   For nothing in a dream could come to pass   More wonderful than what thou hast achieved.JOHANNA (quickly)   Come, let us fly! I will return with you   Back to our village, to our father's bosom.LOUISON   Oh, come! Return with us!JOHANNA                  The people here   Exalt me far above what I deserve.   You have beheld me weak and like a child;   You love me, but you do not worship me.MARGOT   Thou wilt abandon this magnificence.JOHANNA   I will throw off the hated ornaments   Which were a barrier 'twixt my heart and yours,   And I will be a shepherdess again,   And like a humble maiden I will serve you,   And will with bitter penitence atone,   That I above you vainly raised myself.[Trumpets sound.

SCENE X

The KING comes forth from the church. He is in the coronation robes. AGNES SOREL, ARCHBISHOP, BURGUNDY, DUNOIS, LA HIRE, DUCHATEL, KNIGHTS, COURTIERS, and PEOPLE.

Many voices shout repeatedly, while the KING advances, – Long live the king! Long live King Charles the Seventh!

[The trumpets sound. Upon a signal from the KING, the HERALDS with their staves command silence.KING   Thanks, my good people! Thank you for your love!   The crown which God hath placed upon our brow   Hath with our valiant swords been hardly won:   With noble blood 'tis wetted; but henceforth   The peaceful olive branch shall round it twine.   Let those who fought for us receive our thanks;   Our pardon, those who joined the hostile ranks,   For God hath shown us mercy in our need,   And our first royal word shall now be, mercy!PEOPLE   Long live the king! Long live King Charles the good!KING   From God alone, the highest potentate,   The monarchs of the French receive the crown;   But visibly from his Almighty hand   Have we received it.[Turning to the MAIDEN.   Here stands the holy delegate of heaven,   Who hath restored to you your rightful king,   And rent the yoke of foreign tyranny.   Her name shall equal that of holy Denis,   The guardian and protector of this realm,   And to her fame an altar shall be reared.PEOPLE   Hail to the maiden, the deliverer![Trumpets.KING (to JOHANNA)   If thou art born of woman, like ourselves,   Name aught that can augment thy happiness.   But if thy fatherland is there above,   If in this virgin form thou dost conceal   The radiant glory of a heavenly nature,   From our deluded sense remove the veil,   And let us see thee in thy form of light   As thou art seen in heaven, that in the dust   We may bow down before thee.[A general silence; every eye is fixed upon the MAIDEN.JOHANNA (with a sudden cry)   God! my father!

SCENE XI

THIBAUT comes forth from the crowd, and stands opposite to her.

Many voices exclaim, —

Her father!

THIBAUT          Yes, her miserable father,   Who did beget her, and whom God impels   Now to accuse his daughter.BURGUNDY                  Ha! What's this?DUCHATEL   Now will the fearful truth appear!THIBAUT (to the KING)                     Thou think'st   That thou art rescued through the power of God?   Deluded prince! Deluded multitude!   Ye have been rescued through the arts of hell![All step back with horror.DUNOIS   Is this man mad?THIBAUT            Not I, but thou art mad.   And this wise bishop, and these noble lords,   Who think that through a weak and sinful maid   The God of heaven would reveal himself.   Come, let us see if to her father's face   She will maintain the specious, juggling arts   Wherewith she hath deluded king and people.   Now, in the name of the blest Trinity,   Belongst thou to the pure and holy ones?[A general silence; all eyes are fixed upon her; she remains motionless.SOREL   God! she is dumb!THIBAUT             Before that awful name,   Which even in the depths of hell is feared,   She must be silent! She a holy one,   By God commissioned? On a cursed spot   It was conceived; beneath the Druid tree   Where evil spirits have from olden time   Their Sabbath held. There her immortal soul   She bartered with the enemy of man   For transient, worldly glory. Let her bare   Her arm, and ye will see impressed thereon   The fatal marks of hell!BURGUNDY                Most horrible!   Yet we must needs believe a father's words   Who 'gainst his daughter gives his evidence.DUNOIS   The madman cannot be believed   Who in his child brings shame upon himself.SOREL (to JOHANNA)   Oh, maiden, speak! this fatal silence break!   We firmly trust thee! we believe in thee!   One syllable from thee, one single word   Shall be sufficient. Speak! annihilate   This horrid accusation. But declare   Thine innocence, and we will all believe thee.[JOHANNA remains motionless; AGNES steps back with horror.LA HIRE   She's frightened. Horror and astonishment   Impede her utterance. Before a charge   So horrible e'en innocence must tremble.[He approaches her.   Collect thyself, Johanna! innocence   Hath a triumphant look, whose lightning flash   Strikes slander to the earth! In noble wrath   Arise! look up, and punish this base doubt,   An insult to thy holy innocence.[JOHANNA remains motionless; LA HIRE steps back; the excitement increases.DUNOIS   Why do the people fear, the princes tremble?   I'll stake my honor on her innocence!   Here on the ground I throw my knightly gage;   Who now will venture to maintain her guilt?[A loud clap of thunder; all are horror-struck.THIBAUT   Answer, by Him whose thunders roll above!   Give me the lie! Proclaim thine innocence;   Say that the enemy hath not thy heart![Another clap of thunder, louder than the first; the people fly on all sides.BURGUNDY   God guard and save us! What appalling signs!DUCHATEL (to the KING)   Come, come, my king! Forsake this fearful place!ARCHBISHOP (to JOHANNA)   I ask thee in God's name. Art thou thus silent   From consciousness of innocence or guilt?   If in thy favor the dread thunder speaks,   Touch with thy hand this cross, and give a sign![JOHANNA remains motionless. More violent peals of thunder.The KING, AGNES SOREL, the ARCHBISHOP, BURGUNDY, LA HIRE, DUCHATEL retire.

SCENE XII

DUNOIS, JOHANNA.

DUNOIS   Thou art my wife; I have believed in thee   From the first glance, and I am still unchanged.   In thee I have more faith than in these signs,   Than in the thunder's voice, which speaks above.   In noble anger thou art silent thus;   Enveloped in thy holy innocence,   Thou scornest to refute so base a charge.   Still scorn it, maiden, but confide in me;   I never doubted of thine innocence.   Speak not one word; only extend thy hand   In pledge and token that thou wilt confide   In my protection and thine own good cause.[He extends his hand to her; she turns from him with a convulsive motion; he remains transfixed with horror.

SCENE XIII

JOHANNA, DUCHATEL, DUNOIS, afterwards RAIMOND.

DUCHATEL (returning)   Johanna d'Arc! uninjured from the town   The king permits you to depart. The gates   Stand open to you. Fear no injury, —   You are protected by the royal word.   Come follow me, Dunois! You cannot here   Longer abide with honor. What an issue![He retires. DUNOIS recovers from his stupor, casts one look upon JOHANNA, and retires. She remains standing for a moment quite alone. At length RAIMOND appears; he regards her for a time with silent sorrow, and then approaching takes her hand.RAIMOND   Embrace this opportunity. The streets   Are empty now. Your hand! I will conduct you.[On perceiving him, she gives the first sign of consciousness.She gazes on him fixedly, and looks up to heaven; then taking his hand she retires.

ACT V

A wild wood: charcoal-burners' huts in the distance.

It is quite dark; violent thunder and lightning; firing heard at intervals.

SCENE I

CHARCOAL-BURNER and his WIFE.

CHARCOAL-BURNER   This is a fearful storm, the heavens seem   As if they would vent themselves in streams of fire;   So thick the darkness which usurps the day,   That one might see the stars. The angry winds   Bluster and howl like spirits loosed from hell.   The firm earth trembles, and the aged elms   Groaning, bow down their venerable tops.   Yet this terrific tumult, o'er our heads,   Which teacheth gentleness to savage beasts,   So that they seek the shelter of their caves,   Appeaseth not the bloody strife of men —   Amidst the raging of the wind and storm   At intervals is heard the cannon's roar;   So near the hostile armaments approach,   The wood alone doth part them; any hour   May see them mingle in the shock of battle.WIFE   May God protect us then! Our enemies,   Not long ago, were vanquished and dispersed.   How comes it that they trouble us again?CHARCOAL-BURNER   Because they now no longer fear the king,   Since that the maid turned out to be a witch   At Rheims, the devil aideth us no longer,   And things have gone against us.WIFE                    Who comes here?

SCENE II

RAIMOND and JOHANNA enter.

RAIMOND   See! here are cottages; in them at least   We may find shelter from the raging storm.   You are not able longer to endure it.   Three days already you have wandered on,   Shunning the eye of man – wild herbs and root   Your only nourishment. Come, enter in.   These are kind-hearted cottagers.[The storm subsides; the air grows bright and clear.CHARCOAL-BURNER                     You seem   To need refreshment and repose – you're welcome   To what our humble roof can offer you!WIFE   What has a tender maid to do with arms?   Yet truly! these are rude and troublous times   When even women don the coat of mail!   The queen herself, proud Isabel, 'tis said,   Appears in armor in the hostile camp;   And a young maid, a shepherd's lowly daughter,   Has led the armies of our lord the king.CHARCOAL-BURNER   What sayest thou? Enter the hut, and bring   A goblet of refreshment for the damsel.[She enters the hut.RAIMOND (to JOHANNA)   All men, you see, are not so cruel; here   E'en in the wilderness are gentle hearts.   Cheer up! the pelting storm hath spent its rage,   And, beaming peacefully, the sun declines.CHARCOAL-BURNER   I fancy, as you travel thus in arms,   You seek the army of the king. Take heed!   Not far remote the English are encamped,   Their troops are roaming idly through the wood.RAIMOND   Alas for us! how then can we escape?CHARCOAL-BURNER   Stay here till from the town my boy returns.   He shall conduct you safe by secret paths.   You need not fear-we know each hidden way.RAIMOND (to JOHANNA)   Put off your helmet and your coat-of-mail,   They will not now protect you, but betray.[JOHANNA shakes her head.CHARCOAL-BURNER   The maid seems very sad – hush! who comes here?

SCENE III

CHARCOAL-BURNER'S WIFE comes out of the hut with a bowl. A Boy.

WIFE   It is our boy whom we expected back.[To JOHANNA.   Drink, noble maiden! may God bless it to you!CHARCOAL-BURNER (to his son)   Art come, Anet? What news?[The boy looks at JOHANNA, who is just raising the bowl to her lips; he recognizes her, steps forward, and snatches it from her.BOY                  Oh, mother! mother!   Whom do you entertain? This is the witch   Of Orleans!CHARCOAL-BURNER (and his WIFE)          God be gracious to our souls![They cross themselves and fly.

SCENE IV

RAIMOND, JOHANNA.

JOHANNA (calmly and gently)   Thou seest, I am followed by the curse,   And all fly from me. Do thou leave me, too;   Seek safety for thyself.RAIMOND                I leave thee! now   Alas, who then would bear thee company?JOHANNA   I am not unaccompanied. Thou hast   Heard the loud thunder rolling o'er my head —   My destiny conducts me. Do not fear;   Without my seeking I shall reach the goal.RAIMOND   And whither wouldst thou go? Here stand our foes,   Who have against thee bloody vengeance sworn —   There stand our people who have banished thee.JOHANNA   Naught will befall me but what heaven ordains.RAIMOND   Who will provide thee food? and who protect thee   From savage beasts, and still more savage men?   Who cherish thee in sickness and in grief?JOHANNA   I know all roots and healing herbs; my sheep   Taught me to know the poisonous from the wholesome.   I understand the movements of the stars,   And the clouds' flight; I also hear the sound   Of hidden springs. Man hath not many wants,   And nature richly ministers to life.RAIMOND (seizing her hand)   Wilt thou not look within? Oh, wilt thou not   Repent thy sin, be reconciled to God,   And to the bosom of the church return?JOHANNA   Thou hold'st me guilty of this heavy sin?RAIMOND   Needs must I – thou didst silently confess —JOHANNA   Thou, who hast followed me in misery,   The only being who continued true,   Who slave to me when all the world forsook,   Thou also hold'st me for a reprobate   Who hath renounced her God —[RAIMOND is silent.                  Oh, this is hard!RAIMOND (in astonishment)   And thou wert really then no sorceress?JOHANNA   A sorceress!RAIMOND          And all these miracles   Thou hast accomplished through the power of God   And of his holy saints?JOHANNA                Through whom besides?RAIMOND   And thou wert silent to that fearful charge?   Thou speakest now, and yet before the king,   When words would have availed thee, thou wert dumb!JOHANNA   I silently submitted to the doom   Which God, my lord and master, o'er me hung.RAIMOND   Thou couldst not to thy father aught reply?JOHANNA   Coming from him, methought it came from God;   And fatherly the chastisement will prove.RAIMOND   The heavens themselves bore witness to thy guilt!JOHANNA   The heavens spoke, and therefore I was silent.RAIMOND   Thou with one word couldst clear thyself, and hast   In this unhappy error left the world?JOHANNA   It was no error – 'twas the will of heaven.RAIMOND   Thou innocently sufferedst this shame,   And no complaint proceeded from thy lips!   – I am amazed at thee, I stand o'erwhelmed.   My heart is troubled in its inmost depths.   Most gladly I receive the word as truth,   For to believe thy guilt was hard indeed.   But could I ever dream a human heart   Would meet in silence such a fearful doom!JOHANNA   Should I deserve to be heaven's messenger   Unless the Master's will I blindly honored?   And I am not so wretched as thou thinkest.   I feel privation – this in humble life   Is no misfortune; I'm a fugitive, —   But in the waste I learned to know myself.   When honor's dazzling radiance round me shone,   There was a painful struggle in my breast;   I was most wretched, when to all I seemed   Most worthy to be envied. Now my mind   Is healed once more, and this fierce storm in nature,   Which threatened your destruction, was my friend;   It purified alike the world and me!   I feel an inward peace – and come, what may,   Of no more weakness am I conscious now!RAIMOND   Oh, let us hasten! come, let us proclaim   Thine innocence aloud to all the world!JOHANNA   He who sent this delusion will dispel it!   The fruit of fate falls only when 'tis ripe!   A day is coming that will clear my name,   When those who now condemn and banish me,   Will see their error and will weep my doom.RAIMOND   And shall I wait in silence, until chance —JOHANNA (gently taking her hand)   Thy sense is shrouded by an earthly veil,   And dwelleth only on external things,   Mine eye hath gazed on the invisible!   – Without permission from our God no hair   Falls from the head of man. Seest thou the sun   Declining to the west? So certainly   As morn returneth in her radiant light,   Infallibly the day of truth shall come!