The Return Of Martin Guerre Analysis

The return of Martin Guerre is a story of a peasant who left his wife, Bertrande and his son. After several years, a man called Arnaud du Tilh impersonated Martin Guerre, stole his identity and lived under Martin’s name for three years until he became accused of this act. He almost convinced the court that he was Martin Guerre until the real Martin walked into the curt. Davis, the author of the book illustrates why Martin Guerre left his family and inheritance, how the imposter came into Bertrande’s life , and how economic and religion were playing a role in the sixteenth century society. The fact that impostor was able to fool Bertrande could be due to the situation that she was facing at that time or could be simply due to his charm, ability to lie, and his similarity in physical appearance to Martin. However, Bertrande’s situation could be the most powerful reason as she lived in a world “where organizational structure and public identity were associated exclusively with males” (29). Since, the marriage laws of the time did not allow a woman to seek divorce and remarry, unless having two witnesses confirming the death of the husband with a proof, therefore, Bertrande who was left by her husband had no choice but wait for his return. In fact she was not deceived by Arnaud du
Davis illustrated how other characters were influenced by the laws of new religion, such as Coras, and how Protestantism may have influenced his decisions as a judge. Aside the religion, the persuasive power of the new Martin, also had a great impact on his decision. This was a phenomenal that was leading to the court’s desire to find that this was the real Martin Guerre and not an imposter. As Davis illustrated in her book, the real Martin was an unsatisfied man who faced many failures in his life which eventually led him leave everything behind and disappear where as the new Martin was a loving, ideal