The New Joan, and Other Poems

In Short

This collection of poetry, published in 1917, serves as a lyrical testament to the profound shift in women's roles during the First World War. Through a series of meditations on labor, loss, and the "new" woman, the author frames the wartime service of women—both at home and on the land—as a sacred, Joan-like mission. It is a work of high-minded idealism, blending the harsh realities of trench warfare with a persistent, mystical belief in the redemptive power of love and the endurance of the human spirit.

The Story

The narrative arc of the volume begins with a metaphysical encounter: the persona of the poet meets the spirit of Joan of Arc. This meeting frames the war not merely as a geopolitical conflict, but as a "reincarnate birth," where the souls of men and women are called to ride for country and King under the banner of a new, unified identity. The author establishes this "New Joan" as an archetype—a figure both man and woman—who must bridge the divide between the sexes to create an "Everlasting Law" based on love and pain.

As the poems progress, this vision descends from the celestial to the visceral, domestic reality of the Canadian home front. The poet shifts her gaze to the "kitchen," reclaiming domestic work as a vital, spiritual necessity. Here, the everyday acts of cooking and organizing are elevated to a form of warfare against waste and despair. This sense of duty eventually leads the speaker to the land itself, where she adopts a "boyish" profile and dons khaki, performing the labor of men who are absent. She acknowledges the criticism of those who view her attire as a performance, but she defends her "toil-worn" hands as a genuine extension of the love she bears for a man at the front.

The perspective then pivots toward the soldiers themselves. Through poems like "The Battlefield" and "Christmas Song," the author captures the harrowing contrast between the "din of battle" and the "tiny click of little wooden needles." These needles represent the women back home, knitting for the soldiers, their work weaving a protective, fairy-like web of love that follows the men into the trenches. The narrative reaches its emotional apex in "London," where a wounded Canadian soldier arrives in the city—his dream of "old Romance" shattered by the reality of being "driven like cattle" to a place of pain. Yet, even in this broken state, he encounters a mysterious, enduring force—a woman’s face in the crowd—that connects him back to the "splendid arms" of home.

The collection concludes by reconciling the brutal cycles of nature and war with the "everlasting hope" of spring. The final poems acknowledge the "blood-red" reality of the fields and the "ardent Death" that marriages with life, but they insist on the persistence of a "flower-of-love" that survives the chaos. The book ends on a note of solemn defiance, suggesting that while the world is being forged in "leaping flame," the ultimate goal is to bring Love home, not as a transient guest, but as a permanent, triumphant presence.

How It Unfolds

The Vision The poet encounters the spirit of Joan of Arc in the modern world, receiving a charge to unite the sexes in a new spiritual quest. This encounter establishes the "New Joan" as the guiding, armored symbol of the wartime era.

The Law The speaker questions the rigidity of old traditions and calls for a "great marriage" between man and woman. She argues that true truth can only be found when the feminine and masculine principles are merged into one.

The Kitchen Labor is redefined as a sacred act, with the domestic hearth serving as a site of order and beauty. The speaker claims her role as a modern Joan, keeping the household fire aflame while the world burns.

The Land The poet takes up the physical work of farming, embracing the khaki uniform and the rough labor of the fields. She finds purpose in doing the work of the "slackers" while maintaining a connection to her beloved at the front.

The Battlefield The focus shifts to the soldiers, who are comforted by the metaphorical sound of women’s knitting needles amidst the violence of war. These "whispers of women" form a protective, spiritual barrier against the reality of death.

The World The collection closes by looking toward a future where the old, material world has been destroyed. The speaker commits to holding the banner of a new, love-centered day, ensuring the "deathless soul" of the vision lives on.

The People

The New Joan acts as the collection's central, evolving archetype. She is the bridge between the historical martyr and the modern woman, embodying the strength required to transcend gendered expectations. She represents the synthesis of the "woman-will of man" and the "more-of-man in woman’s heart," acting as both a warrior and a nurturer.

The Soldier is the recipient of the author’s grace and the primary victim of the "hell-fire's flare." He is often depicted in a state of fragile transition—moving from a dream of romantic London to the reality of being "pain-blinded" and broken. He is the one who, in his final moments, hears the "fairy sound" of the women’s needles, finding peace in the knowledge that he is remembered.

The Mother figure emerges in the poem of the same name, representing the intense, visceral agony of watching a son fly into the "shining sky" where "swift Death" waits everywhere. She is a figure of desperate, protective love, trying to shield her son with her spirit, knowing that the "earth-force" of war is constantly pulling him toward the dark. She is the grounded, suffering anchor to the soldier’s flight.

In Its Own Voice

The poet speaks of her work as an act of service, framing the physical act of knitting as a spiritual intervention:

"A tiny click of little wooden needles, / Elfin amid the gianthood of war; / Whispers of women, tireless and patient, / Who weave the web afar."

She describes the transformative power of the war on the traditional world:

"These were the worlds our mothers counted new, / These were the ways we still had kept our own, / Until Eternal Law from His high throne / Melted our world in sudden fire, and dew."

Finally, she offers a prayer for the role of women in the new era:

"Through me recover that which man has lost, / Mine was the making, mine the precious cost."

What It's Really About

The core argument is that war is a catalyst for the total reconfiguration of human relationships. The author posits that the "old Law"—the rigid, historical separation of gender roles—has been rendered obsolete by the crisis of the 20th century. By equating the domestic labor of women with the martial valor of the soldiers, the book elevates "women's work" to a civilizational necessity. It asks if the suffering of the war can lead to a "great marriage" of the sexes, where the masculine and feminine are no longer oppositional but complementary. Ultimately, the book is an attempt to find a spiritual architecture for a world that has been "melted" by violence, arguing that love is not a retreat from reality, but the only force strong enough to rebuild it.

Why Read It Today

Readers interested in the intellectual and emotional history of the First World War will find this a fascinating, if highly idealized, window into the era’s psyche. There is a distinct, rhythmic warmth to the writing, characterized by a sincere belief in the nobility of sacrifice. For those accustomed to the gritty, cynical realism of later war poetry, this collection offers a starkly different experience—it is a work of romantic idealism, written at a moment when the full horror of the war was still being processed through the lens of Victorian and Edwardian spiritualism.

The book is not without its difficulties; the language is ornate and the period attitudes—specifically the glorification of "the call" and the romanticization of trench life—may feel jarring to modern sensibilities. Yet, there is a precision in its melancholy, particularly in the accounts of wounded soldiers arriving in London or a mother watching her son take to the skies. It captures the specific, frantic energy of 1917, when the "music of life" was being replaced by the "bugle note." If you appreciate poetry that seeks to find beauty in the face of total systemic collapse, you will find a haunting, persistent voice here that speaks to the endurance of the human heart in the "hell-fire's flare."