Day Fourteen

Henry VI, Part 1

3.3

SYNOPSIS

Scene 3 begins with Joan consoling her battlemates and suggesting that Talbot should be allowed to relish his victory as it will make him arrogant, and then they can "pull his plumes and take away his train." The men, surprisingly, respond with accolades for Joan and tell her they will follow whatever plan she devises, build statues in her honor, etc., and Joan strikes upon an idea. She will "entice" Burgundy away from Talbot's army to join the French, his countrypeeps.

Joan

We will entice the Duke of Burgundy

To leave Talbot and follow us.

They track him down, see he is marching after the English, and the rest of the scene is a back-and-forth with Joan and Burgundy after which he is seduced by Joan to join his countryfolk at Charles urging.

Charles
Speak, Pucelle, and enchant him with thy words.

Burgundy responds in a couple of different ways, first feeling bewitched:

Burgundy

...she hath betwitch'd me with her words...

and by feeling guilty to a degree, having abandonded his country and his people:

Burgundy

I am vanquished...

Forgive me, country, and sweet countrymen,

And, lords, accept this hearty kind embrace.

My forces and my power of men are yours

IMPRESSIONS

Well we get at least two different feminine sides to Joan here, both of which men find distinctly appealing. She starts off as the sweet, maternal figure, consoling the losers, and telling them how she's gonna make it all better.  She ends the scene by "seducing" Burgundy with her words, which I found at least surprising because he wasn't actually seduced by her sexuality or her femininity, per se, just her feminine wiles. At any rate, Burgundy's double-betrayal feels like a setup for more exciting things to come.

LINE OF THE DAY

Joan, again, with the line of the day. Once she has convinced Burgundy to re-join the French, she mocks him (and, ironically, the country and countrymen she used to guilt him back):

Joan

Done like a Frenchman—turn and turn again!

What seems most clear about this line is how Shakespeare feels about the French, having one of their heroes seem like a two-faced opportunist. Nach.