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Summary
In his camp, York has arranged a trial for Joan, attended by Warwick and a Shepherd. The Shepherd is Joan’s father, and he weeps to see her fallen state. Yet she refuses to acknowledge any connection to him, insisting she is of noble birth. Distraught by her rejection, the Shepherd denounces her and, before leaving, urges the English to burn her at the stake. Joan issues a vicious critique of her captors, then attempts to avoid death—first by emphasizing the holy status of her virginity, then by claiming she is in fact pregnant. York, pointing out the absurdity of her competing claims, condemns her to death and has her led away.
Winchester enters with a letter from Henry calling for peace negotiations. York is frustrated to think that so many died and were captured for their country, only to now be dishonored by what he considers “effeminate peace” (5.6.107). He foresees the loss of the rest of the French kingdom. Just then, Charles and his lords arrive to discuss the terms of the treaty.
Winchester says Henry consents to end the war with the proviso that Charles and his lords acknowledge him as lord of all England and France. In turn, Charles will become a viceroy under the king, and his lords will retain their titles and lands, though they will be expected to pay tribute to the crown. Charles expresses his reluctance to give up the power he already possesses. However, René and Alençon counsel him to agree to Henry’s terms; he can always break the truce when convenient, and in the meantime peace will reign. Charles agrees to the terms, and York declares the war to be over.
The play’s final scene shifts the action back to England, where we find Henry titillated by the account Suffolk has given him of the beautiful Margaret of Anjou. Henry asks Gloucester, as Lord Protector, for consent to marry her. Gloucester reminds him that he is already engaged to the earl of Armagnac’s daughter, and it would damage his honor to break that contract. Besides, he argues that the original match is more politically advantageous, since the earl of Armagnac is related to Charles, which makes lasting peace more likely. Plus, his daughter will come with a handsome dowry. But Suffolk reasons that René, as “the King of Naples and Jerusalem” (5.7.40), is even better positioned than the earl. It’s also ridiculous, he says, to worry about dowries, since the king of England is already rich. Henry finally decides to marry Margaret and, begging Gloucester’s pardon, orders her brought to England right away. Everyone then leaves the stage except for Suffolk, who lingers to celebrate the success of his plan: “Margaret shall now be queen and rule the king; / But I will rule both her, the king, and realm” (5.7.107–108).
Analysis
Shakespeare’s portrayal of the famous events leading up to Joan of Arc’s death differs somewhat from other accounts. Some stories show Joan as dying for her alleged heresies. Others focus on her sentencers’ fear of her unconventional life and her warrior-woman status. In this play, Shakespeare ends by suggesting that Joan is perhaps little more than a power-hungry charlatan. True, he has already portrayed her as a fierce warrior and a capable military leader. He has also depicted her as a witch who can successfully summon what the stage directions refer to as “fiends” (SD 5.3.7). However, in this final scene, Joan’s desperation leads her to make obviously contradictory claims about herself. First, she refuses to recognize her father, the lowly Shepherd. Shakespeare gives us no reason to believe that the Shepherd is lying. In fact, we recall that, upon first meeting Charles, Joan affirmed that she was “by birth a shepherd’s daughter” (1.3.51). She then emphasizes the holy purity of her virginity, only to turn around and claim that she’s actually pregnant—an absurd contradiction that York acknowledges with evident irony: “Now heaven forfend—the holy maid with child?” (5.6.65). In the end, Joan goes to a desperate and dishonorable death.
Meanwhile, the French nobility shows itself to be equally dishonorable in their covert plan to accept Henry’s terms for peace, but only for as long as peace suits them. As we reach the end of the play, even as England seems to have the upper hand, Shakespeare is clearly setting the stage for the decline to come in Parts 2 and 3 of the Henry VI sequence. The final signal of an ill-omened future comes in the closing scene, where the scheming Suffolk easily manages to convince Henry to abandon his previous marriage contract. Appealing to the young man’s adolescent lust while appearing to make a reasonable argument in favor of Margaret’s political desirability, Suffolk eventually gets his way. After a play where nearly everyone in the English nobility has shown themselves to be individualistic and hungry for power, Suffolk’s final triumph symbolically seals the kingdom’s fate. Yet it remains to be seen just how his plan will play out. How will the beautiful Margaret of Anjou exert influence over Henry? And will Suffolk, in his turn, manage to control her and, as he claims, “rule both her, the king, and realm” (5.7. 108)? Stay tuned.
