Jeanne was a peasant girl who had "received a vision from God to put France's rightful king on the throne" during the late years of the Hundred Years War. Naturally, one would expect her to dismiss the message as a strange dream as some people (Note : Saint Aubert) did. However, being the brave, headstrong, god-fearing and relentless girl that she was, Jeanne did what she was told and got burned on a stake as a martyr for her efforts. Sure she was made a saint but that happened decade later. Furthermore, depending on which accounts you believe in, Jeanne was condemned by her own people, the French.
Regarding Jeanne and the role she played in history, there are two arguments as usual.
The more popular thinking was the fact that she was a saint who had a message from God, sent to right the wrong. And so, she died a martyr, a hero of France. After all, she did brIng about the coronation of the rightful French King. She was a beacon of hope for the people of France when they were low and desperate.
The other side of the fence was that she was either a delusional or ambitious peasant girl. To back it up, Jeanne was a peasant. In that aspect, it tells us that Jeanne was uneducated and the general thought of peasants back then were that they were not self-aware, meaning Jeanne probably did not think too much on the consequences of her actions unless they were an immediate and obvious result. Furthermore, people then were so God-fearing that just the notion or confirmation that as long as God approves, it is the correct thing to do regardless of logical and realistic outcomes.
Now, if reincarnation was real, here are some people who I think could be her.
1. Winston Churchill
There's one thing everyone knows what PM Churchill was and that was determined and headstrong. If he wants to plan for the battles all through the night for weeks, then he will. Don't believe me? Check Horrible Histories and Lord Moran's book on him. Regardless of the bodily function known as sleep, his generals' and secretaries' need to rest, and the concept of health, Churchill just bulldozes through meetings with only alcohol and tobacco to keep him awake. Now, without his relentless tunnel vision planning, WWII might have gone off to a worse end. However, his disregard for rest and health plants a seed of doubt in people's minds - what if he had made a mistake? What if it was only by luck nothing extremely bad happened? These same views mimic those of Jeanne's actions - What if her luck ran out? What if it was all by chance and not God's will? What if she really was mad? Thus, this well-known PM is one of my candidates for a reincarnated Jeanne, out to save the world.
2. The Great Terrorist of the 21st Century who I shall not name for fear of raging trolls with nothing better to do than to Google this name - O***a, You-Know-Who
I know, I know. Writer, how can you put this guy as a candidate?*Insert angry face**Insert meme Jackie Chan and the Huh? hands* Well, Jeanne can actually be considered a terrorist. Let's check the similarities now shall we?
Believe they were doing what was right and God supports them? Check. Caused lives to be lost? Check. (You can't tell me she didn't kill at all. She participated in battles!) End up dead? Check. Fighting against a whole country with better resources and better trained forces than what they had? Check. Fighting for the freedom of their own countries? Check. Had to go in hiding? Check. Relentless, headstrong, God-fearing, brave and somewhat suicidal? Check. (She was a peasant. No army training and yet she goes and lead battles?) Mixed opinions on their campaigns? Half-check that. I'm still not sure on her modern candidate's polls.
As a conclusion, they are so similar that I wonder when did Jeanne become immortal and had a.gender change. Sure, Jeanne's campaign caused fewer devastations and was in a smaller scale but sometimes it could be just due to the circumstances.
3. A normal person
There are some who think that those who had lived a hard life will achieve peace and happiness in their next as a reparation for the hardships they had overcome. As such, it is entirely possible for Jeanne to just have a normal and peaceful life now. Her personality traits don't make her different from the rest of the human race. We have to survive and go through school and work. If that doesn't take determination and bravery, I don't know what does.
The only difference between a hero, a villain and a civilian are merely circumstantial. Everyone is a Jeanne. A hero to some, a villain to certain people and a mere passerby to others. It all depends on whether others notice and acknowledge it or not.
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