French literatury studies 19th – 20th centuries on Joan of Arc

Abstract

The article examines little-known facts about an interest in the life and self-sacrifice for the sake of saving one’s motherland of France’s national heroine Joan of Arc, nicknamed the Maid of Orleans. The paper a i m s lies in the coverage of interesting episodes of the heroic life of France’s guardian through the accentuation on the novel by Alexandre Dumas père (1802–1870) and  significant  works of three researchers of the 20th c. who have widened the reading range of the Maid of Orleans’ history by Francophone scholars. Research methods. The article employs a systemic approach, with the literary-historical, genetic and comparative methods applied. Based on these, the reason for the playwright A. Dumas père’s interest in two plots implying the national history has been clarified. Results. The research presents the facts of reading the little-known novel by the French writer, as well as philosophic, polemic and historiosophic interpretations of Joan of Arc’s heroic deed. Scholarly novelty. The article is an interesting page in the entry of  Francophone works on the Maid of Orleans into numerous research papers about the heroine of the French people conducted in Ukrainian Literary Studies (in particular, Yuriy  Klen, I. Koshelivets, O. Boychenko (Kit), et al.). Practical value. The article may become a significant contribution into a more profound research into Joan of Arc’s exploit, particularly regarding  the four hypotheses of  her heroic mission.