![]() ![]() ![]() Initially, Cauchon says that it is his religious obligation that motivates his desire to bring Joan to justice. People themselves might not be inherently villainous, but their obligation to uphold institutional power allows for the corruption of their ideals. In general, Shaw suggests, authority figures like Cauchon make decisions based on what will enable their institutions to remain in power rather than on the ethical frameworks their institutions promote. While Cauchon’s spirituality is a major driving force in his condemnation of Joan-and what allows him to see such a condemnation as ethically just-his ties to the Catholic Church and the desire for it to remain in power give his intentions a political aspect, effectively corrupting the integrity of his spiritual reasons for trying Joan. ![]() Peter Cauchon, the Bishop of Beauvais and a French ally to the English, for example, condemns Joan and the heresy she commits against the Catholic Church, arguing that he has a religious obligation to save Joan’s soul from damnation. To Shaw, such interpretations oversimplify Joan’s story and don’t try to understand the institutional structures that informed Joan’s and her accusers’ ethical frameworks and, subsequently, influenced their actions. In Saint Joan, Shaw takes issue with previous adaptations of the Joan of Arc narrative that situate Joan as the undeniable heroine and her accusers as inarguable villains. ![]()
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