Bertrande And Martin example essay topic

It seems as though in today's society, suspicion lies in every corner. No one trusts anyone anymore, everyone lies, everyone steals, everyone pretends to be someone they are not. However true or false these statements might be, there is a need in today's society to be able to explain everything, coming up with every possible lie or predicament within every story. Natalie Davis is from today's society, and once again, she has found the need to investigate Bertrande Guerre's role within The Return of Martin Guerre. The only pieces of evidence that are reliable come from Jean de Coras, the main judge in the trial. However, Davis seems to have ignored his findings, and founded her own.

For most of her points, there is no written evidence to back her up. She simply read and interpreted the story, as many historians must do to come up with plausible reasons for things; however, she interpreted the evidence incorrectly. This impostor known as Arnaud du Tilh, who played a husband, father, friend, nephew and brother for three years, deceived an entire town. However, Davis has chosen Bertrande Guerre as a co-conspirator, with little grounds to base her conclusion upon. Therefore, I still have found that Bertrande Guerre truly believed that Arnaud du Tilh was her husband, making her an unknowing player in the entire charade. Natalie Davis made the point that Bertrande must have known that the new Martin was an impostor due to their sexual relationship and the differences therein (110).

However, this point is hard to believe due to the fact that Bertrande and Martin were married for nine years without having intercourse, and when they finally did, it was in order to conceive their future son, Sanxi (Finlay, 558). Only a few months after Sanxi was born, Martin disappeared for over eight years, which is a long time for a woman to remember the specific details of a sexual relationship that couldn't have lasted for more than a few months (Finlay, 558). Even if Bertrande had noticed a difference in the sexual relationship, she would have doubted her recollections, not having any kind of proof or true memories of those sexual experiences (Finlay, 558). This "new Martin" could have also become more sexually experienced while soldiering, explaining his newfound confidence (Finlay, 558). The two men seemed to have completely different personalities. Martin was an unsympathetic man, who even after he saw Bertrande's sorrow, made no attempt to comfort her (Davis, 86).

Just the fact that Martin abandoned her and their new son goes to show that he was not very loyal or interested in his family. Even according to Natalie Davis, Bertrande was in". ... a marriage in which her husband understood her little, may have feared her, and surely abandoned her... (34)". Arnaud, on the other hand, showed great interest in his new family. He showed Bertrande affection and companionship (Davis, 44). He was successful while farming (Davis, 51), and even became a merchant by selling grains, wine and wool (Davis, 52).

All of the differences between the men were Natalie Davis' main arguments as to why Bertrande should have noticed the varying personalities between the two men. What she neglects to remind the reader is that there had been eight years from the time Bertrande had last seen the real Martin Guerre and the time she saw Arnaud. Not only could she have forgotten her husband's habits, but she could have assumed that he had changed after so many new experiences and his years in the army. The relationship was described as strained from the very beginning. In fact, Bertrande was described as going out and playing with Martin's sisters instead of spending time with her husband. She may not have really gotten to know the real Martin's personality at all.

While the physical features of the two men were very similar, there were certain features that were different. Martin was very tall and thin, with dark hair, a protruding lower lip, large feet, and a scar on his eyebrow (Davis, 67). However, Arnaud was shorter, a little heavier, with lighter hair, no scar on his face, and smaller feet (Davis, 67). Natalie Davis made the point that Bertrande should have been able to notice these obvious differences; however, once again, a long time had passed. Martin could have gained weight, the sun could have lightened his hair, and the scar could have worn away.

There were no photographs or paintings at the time that could accurately portray his actual height, his actual size, or his actual looks. The only idea of what he had looked like in the past came from memory, and with every other bit of evidence, it seems that these memories varied. While Davis made different points trying to show Bertrande as a calculating conspirator, critics still make the point that there were many other townspeople and family members that had been around and had known Martin for longer than Bertrande had. Martin's four sisters never doubted that Arnaud wasn't the real Martin; in fact, they were some of the first few to recognize him (Finlay, 558). Davis tried to portray these sisters as manipulators who preferred Arnaud to their uncle as the head of the household (Davis, 55), however, there is no evidence of this. All of these people had been fooled by a master in the art of acting and taking on an alternate personality.

Arnaud had taken the time to meet those who knew of Martin and the real Martin Guerre himself. Through those people he learned important people's names, where they lived, when they had married, stories of his own childhood, and stories of his own marriage (Davis, 81). There was no reason to suspect that it was someone different that their own brother, friend, neighbor, or husband. He knew everything and everyone, leaving no doubt that he was in fact Martin Guerre. Natalie Davis makes Bertrande out to be a calculating, manipulative woman who simply wants love, affection and the perfect marriage, while still being able to play dumb if the real Martin was to return (Davis, 44). However, through the actual evidence Jean de Coras makes Bertrande out to be a truly loyal wife, who simply accepted the man who said he was her husband back into her home and bed, taking good care of him as any wife would (Finlay, 562).

Throughout the story, Bertrande showed nothing but loyalty towards Martin, by not divorcing him when he could not have sex with her, standing up to family pressure when they tried to arrest Arnaud (whom she believed was her husband), and begging for forgiveness when she saw the real Martin (Finlay, 562). As Arnaud du Tilh was being led to death, he preached that Bertrande had no knowledge of his role-playing, and said that once she had suspected him, she drove him away (Davis, 93). Before he was led up to the gibbet, he asked her for forgiveness, and admitted to deceiving her (Finlay, 555). The only two people who even mentioned Bertrande's involvement were Arnaud; as he was being led to death, and Martin, who had just returned home to find his wife had been sleeping and living with an impostor for three years. Arnaud simply wanted to clear her name of any suspicion, for he obviously was the wrongdoer, not she.

Martin was angry and unsympathetic, blaming the entire charade on his wife, whom he felt must have been involved (Davis, 86). However, Martin had known her for such a short amount of time, and it appears that the two were not very close. Historical stories and details can be found within many things, such as diaries, books, word of mouth, photographs, paintings, and stories. Yet as each historian or reader looks through these pieces, he must be willing to interpret the evidence differently than the next.

The willingness of these people is why they are historians. However, evidence can still be interpreted incorrectly. Imagination can take over the truth. And in my opinion, and as my points have shown, Natalie Davis made up a tale of what happened, ignoring the actual story that had been recorded by one of the lead characters who was there at the time, Jean de Coras. While her points had good merit, there was little evidence besides her opinion and suspicion that backed her up. Bertrande de Role was deceived by this man, just as everyone else was.

Whether she enjoyed her time spent with Arnaud is not important, it is whether or not she was fooled. While there were many who were suspicious, and many who were uncertain of Bertrande's innocence, there was not a majority that truly believed she was a co-conspirator. She was not proven guilty by Jean de Coras nor was no proven guilty by the townspeople. The townspeople had fallen for Arnaud's acting, and it is certain that Bertrande had fallen for it as well. And as each of these people would say, Arnaud was a wonderful actor, who was educated in Martin's life and the people within it. Stories such as these are reminders as to why history is not always objective, and that historians have the right to interpret it in any way that they choose.

However, a good historian will always have his critic..