Saint Joan Religion Quotes
How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Scene.Line). Every time a character talks counts as one line, even if what they say turns into a long monologue.
Quote #1
ROBERT: " Miracles are all right, Polly. The only difficulty about them is that they don't happen nowadays." (1.92)
The Captain, like many of his political counterparts, only has faith in practical things. He leaves religious matters to the Church.
Quote #2
THE ARCHBISHOP: "Miracles are not frauds because they are often – I do not say always – very simple and innocent contrivances by which the priest fortifies the faith of his flock." (2.107)
Here's a priest saying that most miracles are bogus. He thinks it's OK, though, because, even if they're hoaxes, they lead people to God. We wonder if he's more concerned with people's souls or in maintaining the power of the Church.
Quote #3
THE ARCHBISHOP: "Child: you are in love with religion. […] There is no harm in it […] But there is danger." (2.126-2.128)
Is the Archbishop already guessing at Joan's fate? Does he realize exactly where her zeal will lead her?
Quote #4
JOAN: "Minding your own business is like minding your own body: it's the shortest way to make yourself sick. […] it is God's business we are here to do: not our own." (2.169)
Joan seems like the only person in the whole of France that actually believes in the will of God.
Quote #5
THE CHAPLAIN: "I would not leave a Jew alive in Christendom if I had my way." (4.26)
This kind of anti-Semitism is deeply rooted in European Christian society.
Quote #6
CAUCHON: [fiercely] "She is not a witch. She is a heretic." (4.68)
There's a big difference between the two things for Cauchon and the Church that he represents. A witch has supernatural powers. A heretic is merely someone who defies the Church.
Quote #7
WARWICK: "[Christianity and Islam] are only east and west views of the same thing." (4.102)
Warwick is a lot more open-minded than you might expect a medieval nobleman to be.