I always thought I was Jeanne d’Arc and Bonaparte. How little one knows oneself.

In this wry, self-deprecating remark, de Gaulle contrasts youthful self-mythologizing with the sobering discovery of one’s real limits and complexity. Invoking Jeanne d’Arc and Napoleon—icons of national salvation and military genius—suggests the grand roles ambitious young people sometimes imagine for themselves. The closing sentence (“How little one knows oneself”) turns the joke into a broader reflection: self-knowledge is elusive, and identity is often built from fantasies, borrowed legends, and retrospective storytelling. Coming from a leader frequently cast in heroic terms, the line also undercuts the cult of personality, hinting that even those later seen as “great” once misread themselves.