Return Of Martin Guerre Analysis

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The Return of Martin Guerre is about peasant life in the 1540’s and concerns the disappearance of the wealthy Martin Guerre for eight years. Martin leaves his wife Bertrande behind and after eight years he returns to her or does he. The real Martin does not return but an imposter, Arnaud de Tilh or Pansette. De Tilh and Bertrande live together for three years before the story begins to unravel and de Tilh is put on trial for impersonating Guerre. With Bertrande’s backing, there is speculation that Bertrande knows de Tilh is not her real husband, de Tilh, is almost acquitted until the real Martin shows up. Author Natalie Zemon Davis argues that historical research into peasant’s lives has been lacking the actual voice of the peasants themselves, …show more content…
Davis also argues that since most peasants couldn’t write their own stories that authors of a certain time may give a historian a sense of what that author considers realistic for any given time. The issue with peasant portrayal in literature according to Davis is that authors for the most part make the peasant out to be the comedic foil in these works. The next source a historian uses to get a sense of peasant life is Court jurisdictions. Davis believes that these jurisdictions give a rounder picture of what a peasant’s life may entail and gives the historian an insight into the “more salacious side of a peasant’s story”. Davis states that these jurisdiction documents “show a peasant’s expectations and feelings at a time of sudden agitation or crisis.” Davis contemplates why the adventures of three young villagers with a story that seemed akin to a fable would fascinate Judge Jean de Coras: one of the judges on the case to write eloquently about it after one of the parties is convicted to
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