Henry VI, Part 1: RSC, 1977: Charlotte Cornwell as Joan La Pucelle.

The Dauphin says to Joan, after she has beaten him in a duel: "Stay, stay thy hands! Thou art an Amazon." (1H6, I.ii.104) Many young women in Shakespeare find themselves confronting fighting-men: Joan of Arc (here), the Countess of Auvergne, Queen Margaret, Helena, Viola, Desdemona. Nevertheless the issue of marriage is prominent in all their lives, for good or ill. Farrah, designer; Terry Hands, director; Tom Holte, photographer. Rights: Thos. F. and Mig Holte Collection (Copyright Shakespeare Birthplace Trust). This image may be used for educational purposes only.