Píslarsaga Krists í píslarsögu konu. Kvikmynd Dreyers um píslir og dauða Jóhönnu af Örk

Útdráttur

Kvikmynd Carls Theodors Dreyer, Þjáning og dauði Jóhönnu af Örk (f. La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc), sem kom út árið 1928, er ein af þekktustu kvikmyndunum frá tímum þöglu mynd-anna. Það er margt sem bendir til þess að Dreyer ætli sér ekki aðeins að segja söguna af píslum og dauða Jóhönnu af Örk, því píslarsagan í mynd Dreyers vísar augljóslega til þekkt-ustu píslarsögu allra tíma, píslarsögu Jesú Krists. Það eru líkindin milli þessarar píslarsögu Jóhönnu og píslarsögu Krists, sem er viðfangsefni þessarar greinar. Markmiðið er að leggja mat á það hvort túlkun Dreyers á píslarsögu Krists í gegnum sögu Jóhönnu af Örk geti reynst gagnleg við að túlka söguna um þjáningu og dauða Jesú Krists. Gengið er út frá spurningunni hvort Kristur í kvenlíkama geti mögulega dýpkað skilning okkar á holdtekj-unni, á þeim mannlega veruleika sem Guð gengur inn í og takmarkast á engan hátt við reynsluheim karla, eins og karlmiðlæg guðfræðihefð hefur gjarnan gefið til kynna.

Abstract
In his movie, The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928), the Danish director, Carl Theodor Dreyer, presents a powerful representation of the medieval martyr. Dreyer’s film is not about Joan’s life itself, only the trial and her execution, i.e. her passion-story. During the trial the main focus is on the question about the truth of her revelations and whether she really is the daughter of God, she claims to be. Despite her young age it is evident that she poses a significant threat to the spiritual as well as worldly authorities. Her threat to the spiritual authorities has to do with her doubting their monopoly on salvation. When she refuses to recant, and to stop dressing as a man (which she claims to be God’s will), her destiny is set. The soldiers mock her and put a crown (made out of straw) on her head, before she is sent to the stake. She is burned with a sign above her head with the words idolater, heretic and apostate written on it. The aim of this article is to explore Dreyer’s portrayal of Joan of Arc in his film as a female Christ-Figure. At the same time, I will argue that the film can serve as an important dialogue partner in ongoing Christological discourse. The conclusion is that Dreyer’s Joan provides a vivid image of Jesus Christ that challenges our fixation on Jesus’ maleness, and helps us to understand better what we really mean when we claim that God, dressed-in flesh, became human, like us, female or male.