Secondly, my case is not against the character of Joan of Arc. It’s about her beauty. I’m still not convinced that he is talking about something besides beauty in the line. It doesn’t make sense to me.

It was also pointed out to me that the majority of males equate the word lovely with beauty the majority of the time. Since this song was written/sung by a male, it seems logical that beauty was the main thought. (Plus, throwing a character reference between two highly known beauty references is bad writing.)

Therefore, I have to thank you both for your input, but I’m not convinced that Joan of Arc can/should be put on the same plane as Cleopatra or Aphrodite.

What’s more, I have a theory with two options:

Option 1: Tal Bachman doesn’t have the faintest clue who Joan of Arc is, but just grabbed her name because she is well known in history and fit the syllable length for the song.

Option 2: Tal Bachman saw a play/movie of Joan of Arc and after seeing a beautiful actress play the part, assumed that the real Joan of Arc was also very pretty.

A few other people I have talked to think these are plausible explanations.

Secondly, my case is not against the character of Joan of Arc. It’s about her beauty. I’m still not convinced that he is talking about something besides beauty in the line. It doesn’t make sense to me.

It was also pointed out to me that the majority of males equate the word lovely with beauty the majority of the time. Since this song was written/sung by a male, it seems logical that beauty was the main thought. (Plus, throwing a character reference between two highly known beauty references is bad writing.)

Therefore, I have to thank you both for your input, but I’m not convinced that Joan of Arc can/should be put on the same plane as Cleopatra or Aphrodite.

What’s more, I have a theory with two options:

Option 1: Tal Bachman doesn’t have the faintest clue who Joan of Arc is, but just grabbed her name because she is well known in history and fit the syllable length for the song.

Option 2: Tal Bachman saw a play/movie of Joan of Arc and after seeing a beautiful actress play the part, assumed that the real Joan of Arc was also very pretty.

A few other people I have talked to think these are plausible explanations.

Is he praising Joan of Arc’s character? The beauty of her heart or mind? Her ability to rise up and cause a revolution? (And then get burned at the stake?)

If that’s the case perhaps he is talking about Aphrodite’s *beautiful* heart and mind.

I’m not saying that each character can’t stand for something else, but typically if you use three people as examples either all three of them represent the same thing, or they each will represent something different that is equally important.

In this case, the bookends, Cleopatra and Aphrodite are both widely (read: only) known for their beauty. (Although Aphrodite is also known for being a Greek goddess, which implies a whole different line of undesirable characteristic.)

Joan of Arc is the only one who is not known for her beauty. Instead she is known for causing an uprising (which didn’t turn out terribly well for her.)

I’m not convinced that telling someone they are “like Joan of Arc” is a compliment. And telling someone they are better than Joan of Arc is only marginally better.

Is he praising Joan of Arc’s character? The beauty of her heart or mind? Her ability to rise up and cause a revolution? (And then get burned at the stake?)

If that’s the case perhaps he is talking about Aphrodite’s *beautiful* heart and mind.

I’m not saying that each character can’t stand for something else, but typically if you use three people as examples either all three of them represent the same thing, or they each will represent something different that is equally important.

In this case, the bookends, Cleopatra and Aphrodite are both widely (read: only) known for their beauty. (Although Aphrodite is also known for being a Greek goddess, which implies a whole different line of undesirable characteristic.)

Joan of Arc is the only one who is not known for her beauty. Instead she is known for causing an uprising (which didn’t turn out terribly well for her.)

I’m not convinced that telling someone they are “like Joan of Arc” is a compliment. And telling someone they are better than Joan of Arc is only marginally better.

–adjective
1. charmingly or exquisitely beautiful: a lovely flower.
2. having a beauty that appeals to the heart or mind as well as to the eye, as a person or a face.
3. delightful; highly pleasing: to have a lovely time.
4. of a great moral or spiritual beauty: a lovely character.
–noun
5. Informal. a beautiful woman, esp. a show girl.
6. any person or thing that is pleasing, highly satisfying, or the like: Every car in the new line is a lovely.
–adverb
7. Nonstandard. very well; splendidly.

–adjective
1. charmingly or exquisitely beautiful: a lovely flower.
2. having a beauty that appeals to the heart or mind as well as to the eye, as a person or a face.
3. delightful; highly pleasing: to have a lovely time.
4. of a great moral or spiritual beauty: a lovely character.
–noun
5. Informal. a beautiful woman, esp. a show girl.
6. any person or thing that is pleasing, highly satisfying, or the like: Every car in the new line is a lovely.
–adverb
7. Nonstandard. very well; splendidly.