Saint Joan

Joan of Arc The Inquisitor speech towards Saint Joan is one of persuasion that uses rhetorical appeals such as ethos, logos and pathos to create the image of a damned vile creature in place of Joan, while convincing the clerics themselves to “feel” it is acceptable to condemn her soul. Knowing that the jury might look upon Joan with sympathy, he finds a way to create a pre-emptive attack to manipulate the way in which jury members will first look upon Joan. In his speech the inquisitor uses logos to convince the audience, based on the evidence and logic he is giving. “You must not fall into the common error of mistaking these simpletons for liars and hypocrites. They believe honestly and sincerely that their diabolic inspiration is divine” (37-40) The inquisitor believes that Joan thinking her “diabolic” inspiration is “divine” has committed a much an act far worse than leading the French against the English. Also making him think that, heresy is crueler in its consequences than damning a woman. He is being sarcastic toward the audience and warning them to not fall into the common error that everyone else makes of mistaking these “ignorants” as liars or hypocrites. Thought the inquisitor also uses ethos in his speech to create a certain mood within his audience. He leads the clerics to trust him by providing his background with heresy, saying “If you had seen what I have seen of heresy, you would not think it a light thing even in its most apparently harmless and even lovable and pious origins” (2-5). The point of view of the clerics is meant to be changed when he mentions it, but the inquisitor also backs his assertions with examples such as “the woman who quarrels with her clothes, and puts on the dress of a man, is like the man who throws off his fur gown and dresses like john the Baptist: they are followed as surely as the night follows the day, by bands of wild women and men who refuse to wear any clothes