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Act 1, Scene 5
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Henry VI Part 1, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Individualism vs. Nationalism
Gender and Politics
Courage vs. Cowardice
Religion, Power, and Manipulation
Impulse and History
Summary
Analysis
Joan la Pucelle enters, accompanied by the Dauphin Charles, Alanson, and the Reignier. With pride in her voice, Pucelle orders the French colors to be spread across the walls of Orleance, a sign to the city’s residents that France has won the day. Charles marvels that Pucelle’s promises came true: everything seemed to happen exactly as she said it would. To honor the role Pucelle played in this victory, Charles declares that he will make her the new patron saint of France.
Even by Shakespeare’s time, Pucelle had been officially canonized as a saint by the Catholic church—making this moment another one in which a character’s prediction of the future is borne out by historical occurrence.
Themes
