Píslarsaga Krists í píslarsögu konu. Kvikmynd Dreyers um píslir og dauða Jóhönnu af Örk

Abstract

In his movie, The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928), the Danish director, Carl Theodor Dreyer, presents a powerful representation of the medieval martyr. Dreyer’s film is not about Joan’s life itself, only the trial and her execution, i.e. her passion-story. During the trial the main focus is on the question about the truth of her revelations and whether she really is the daughter of God, she claims to be. Despite her young age it is evident that she poses a significant threat to the spiritual as well as worldly authorities. Her threat to the spiritual authorities has to do with her doubting their monopoly on salvation. When she refuses to recant, and to stop dressing as a man (which she claims to be God’s will), her destiny is set. The soldiers mock her and put a crown (made out of straw) on her head, before she is sent to the stake. She is burned with a sign above her head with the words idolater, heretic and apostate written on it. The aim of this article is to explore Dreyer’s portrayal of Joan of Arc in his film as a female Christ-Figure. At the same time, I will argue that the film can serve as an important dialogue partner in ongoing Christological discourse. The conclusion is that Dreyer’s Joan provides a vivid image of Jesus Christ that challenges our fixation on Jesus’ maleness, and helps us to understand better what we really mean when we claim that God, dressed-in flesh, became human, like us, female or male.