TradCatKnight: Men In The Life Of St. Joan Of Arc

The life of St. Joan of Arc (1412-1431) illustrates a truth that is hard to convey to modern girls. This truth is that lust is a product of hatred, whereas chastity is a product of love.

Lust as political control
The reason modern girls are unaware of this truth — and believe the opposite — is that Western culture has a vested interest in blinding them to their own welfare in this regard. Thus, from an early age, girls learn to dress immodestly, appear available for sexual activity (whether they really are or not) and behave in a seductive manner no matter where they are or what they are doing. In the mind of girls, such provocative behaviour is intended to inspire admiration. In the mind of the dictating culture, however, it is intended to inspire lust.

Why the culture should promote lust is not obvious to some of us, but author E. Michael Jones explains the phenomenon in terms of political control. Governments recognise that people who are addicted to fornication will respond with gratitude when the ruling class tells them they can go ahead and fornicate to their hearts’ content, without government interference. Implied in this “permission” is a jab at the Catholic Church, which pushes for love and responsibility over lust and thrills.

Hateful men
During her short life, St. Joan had interactions with many men. Some of these interactions were literally matters of life and death.

In her clearly stated view, it was a man — an unworthy bishop — who caused her execution. (“Bishop, I die through you,” she said to him.) A number of other male clerics, academics and politicians hated her and worked hard to ensure her death by fire. It was invariably from this group that St. Joan experienced sexual harassment. She was profoundly shocked at being called a whore by her English enemies. In at least one case, the harassment appears to have been an attempted rape during her imprisonment.

To add to the cruelty, the men who impugned her purity were the very ones who also condemned her use of male clothing, which they described as a sign of perversity. In reality, St. Joan wore male clothing to protect her virginity while living with soldiers, as a practical measure to make it easier to ride horses and carry weapons, and, according to her, in response to a divine command.

The point is this: the men who hated her were the ones who lusted after her.

Loving men
On the other hand, St. Joan was close to a number of men. Her male relatives included her father, two brothers and an uncle.

Her father must have been a bit of a mystic himself because before his daughter’s public mission began, he was troubled by vivid dreams that she was mingling with soldiers. Her two brothers, Jean and Pierre, volunteered to serve in St. Joan’s military escort. Her uncle was advised by a French captain to “box her ears” when she asked to be taken to see the dauphin (heir to the French throne). Whether or not the uncle complied, the fact that he was told to inflict corporal punishment on St. Joan shows him to have been an authority figure in her life….