Joan of Arc’s strength and courage comes from her beliefs in God and the French people’s belief in her. Without each other, Joan will not accomplish so much. Joan uses King Charles’ resources as a starting point for her Divine mission. This includes crowning Charles as the rightful king of France, forcing the Burgundians out of France, and uniting all of France under one ruler. Therefore, Joan’s whole mission revolves around King Charles, and as a result, she needs his encouragement in order to succeed. King Charles does provide this encouragement in the beginning of Joan’s mission. However, after Joan succeeds in putting Charles on the throne, he abandons her. The reasons Charles abandons Joan are debatable and can be seen as political decisions to save face, because Joan’s power and influence starts to die down. The Church also plays a vital role in Charles abandoning Joan, because the influence of the Church is so powerful in deciding the destiny of France and the King. All of King Charles important decisions involve his advisors and are usually decided based on public response. King Charles will not have the support of his people if he does not have their satisfaction. Therefore Charles must do whatever it takes, even if it means he has to sacrifice Joan, in order to prove he is powerful and that he is the rightful king. When Joan first arrives and meets Charles at the castle of Loches, and she tells him of her plans and her mission from God, he acts as if the whole deal is a joke at first. It actually comes to the point where Joan kneels down in front of Charles and “clasps his knees and weep hot tears” (p.72) in order to implore him to believe her. King Charles agrees with Joan because he really has nothing to lose. This girl, claiming to be the Maid of Lorraine, is willing to sacrifice herself to him and do him a favor for nothing in return. Also, the whole idea o...
