The Passion of Joan of Arc - Characters & Cast

Her primary motivation is her profound and unshakeable faith in God and the divine visions she has received. She believes her mission is God-given, and her struggle is to remain faithful to that calling despite the extreme suffering and persecution she faces.

Joan begins as a steadfast believer, enduring her trial with unwavering faith in her divine mission. Under immense psychological pressure and the threat of being burned alive, her human fear surfaces, and she briefly breaks, signing a confession. However, this moment of weakness is swiftly followed by a resurgence of conviction. Realizing she has betrayed God, she recants her confession, fully embracing her role as a martyr and finding spiritual triumph in her death.

His motivation is primarily political. Aligned with the English, he seeks to discredit Joan's divine claims, which legitimized the French crown, thereby undermining the French cause. He uses the authority of the Church to achieve a political objective.

Cauchon remains the steadfast head of the ecclesiastical court, driven by political motivations to convict Joan. He orchestrates the trial, using theological arguments and psychological manipulation to break her will. While he leads the persecution, the film occasionally shows glimmers of conflict or pity in his expression, suggesting a buried conscience, which becomes more apparent as he sorrowfully watches her execution.

His motivation shifts from fulfilling his role in the court to providing spiritual comfort to a person he comes to see as a true believer being unjustly persecuted. He is moved by her faith and suffering.

As the bailiff and one of the few who shows kindness to Joan, Massieu's character arc involves a quiet struggle between his official duties and his growing sympathy and belief in her sincerity. He initially participates in the trial but subtly aids her when possible. By the end, he is openly supportive, holding a makeshift cross for her to see as she dies.

His motivation is to trick Joan into a confession. He is a tool of the court, using deceit to break her spirit where direct interrogation fails.

Loyseleur acts as a key instrument of the court's deception. He pretends to be Joan's ally, a fellow prisoner from her region, to gain her trust and advise her to confess. He shows no significant change, remaining a manipulative figure whose actions are solely in service of the court's goal to entrap her. His feigned sympathy is one of the cruelest aspects of her psychological torment.