The Between Vigne 's And Davis 's Accounts

In his records, Jean de Coras described Bertrande as an easily duped woman which he attributes to her gender. Davis notes that Coras had the capability and thoughtfulness to recognize female intelligence by looking beyond patriarchal prejudices to uncover the truth. His assumption was that she was innocent. Similarly, the film also portrayed Bertrande as a victim who was fooled into believing the impostor was her husband for several years. Conversely, Davis believed that Bertrande’s conduct revealed her ingenuity and calculations that were common tactics demonstrated by peasant women who were forced to live in a patriarchal society. As a result, Davis believed she was Arnaud’s accomplice who was aware of his fraud, but was desperate for a husband even if it meant lying to her family. Despite her opposing view, Davis noted that since Arrest Memorable remains the best source for the story of Martin Guerre, she had to reinterpret it in order to formulate her own assumption on Bertrande’s

In the book “The Return of Martin Guerre,” by Zemon Davis Martin Guerre left his wife on a long journey for twelve years and then returned. While he was gone a fake man by the name of Arnaud du Tilh came and took Martin place. He came in as if nothing happened ad as if he was the “real” martin. Martin’s wife Bertrande claimed not to know that the imposter was not her husband Martin. I believed that she did know that wasn’t her husband. How can you be sexually involved with someone and not realize that is not the man you married. There is no way she didn’t know that wasn’t her husband. I think that she didn’t want to believe it because she was in love with her husband and didn’t want to question him because of the fact that she missed him.

The Return of Martin Guerre, written by Natalie Zemon Davis, is the tale of a court case that takes place in sixteenth century France. Martin Guerre is a peasant who deserted his wife and family for many years. While Martin Guerre is gone, a man named Arnaud du Tilh arrives at Martin’s village and claims to be Martin Guerre. Bertrande, who is Guerre’s wife, Guerre’s sisters, and many of the villagers, accepts the imposter. After almost three years of being happily married, Bertrande takes the fraud to court under pressure of Pierre Guerre, her stepfather and Guerre’s brother. Arnaud du Tilh is almost declared innocent, but the real Martin Guerre appears in the courthouse. Throughout this tale, many factors of the peasant life are

The absence of the trial records makes Davis depend on Coras’s account, which remains “the best source for the story of Martin Guerre” (Finlay, 556) primarily, because Coras witnessed the scandal making him a primary source. Davis reinterprets Coras’s

He says, “Coras recorded that in court Bertrande was nervous and uncertain, trembling in speech and with eyes fixed on the floor. Davis asserts, that this was all a clever act…” (Finlay 560). It is evident, Finlay doesn't believe the same interpretation Davis received from the Coras. He says, Bertrande was just worried about the outcome of the trial and how it would affect her family. Bertrande wasn't trying to pull an act. She was sincerely worried what would happen with her family's honor. Davis argues is was a clever act because Bertrande wanted to seem defenseless to the judge and if she succeeds, like she did, she would be declared non-guilty. Bertrande would just appear a hopeless woman who was also fooled by the fake

Suspicion is raised from the beginning of the film, but shifts to various players as the film unfolds. The imposter himself, has a simultaneously engaging and repellant personality. Bourdin’s audacity in impersonating a missing American child is breathtaking. The fact that he fooled the Barclay family and the FBI is beyond comprehension. It is this tone of incredulity that Layton expertly manipulates in the viewer. Who to trust? Who is telling the truth? What happened to Nicholas? Where is this missing child?

Natalie Zemon Davis’ The Return of Martin Guerre tells the true story of a peasant named Martin Guerre, who was at the center of a famous case of imposture in France in the sixteenth century. Davis takes the facts of this famous case from two primary sources including a book written by one of the trial judges of the case in Toulouse, Jean de Coras, called Arreste Memorable and one by a lawyer, Guillaume La Sueur, called Admiranda Historia. Davis uses other secondary sources to add details about peasant life including information about marriage, family, economics, religion, village social structure, as well as the political structure of the time. Davis moves beyond the facts and tries to interpret and understand the motivations of the characters in the story. For example, she assumes that Bertrande silently agreed to the fraud of Arnaud du Tilh because she wanted a husband and could not remarry after her husband abandoned her. This seems more believable to me than Bertrande just being stupid or naive and not knowing the difference between her husband and a stranger. In the preface of the book she admits she was “generating not proofs, but historical possibilities” (Davis, viii). I

All the facts the prosecutor presents are valid and true, though unrelated to his case. From the prosecutor's point of view, Meursault is a “monster, a man without morals” (96). Even Meursault agrees that "what he was saying was plausible" (99). The reader, who knows all of Meursault’s thoughts, knows how absurd the prosecution’s accusations are. Throughout the trial, Camus explains that perception means everything, and there is no absolute truth.

The main focus of the story is on Bertrande de Rols and her place in sixteenth century society, especially as a wife. At the age of nine, Bertrande was married to Martin Guerre who was a

Starters Davis is right in saying that Bertrande knew that the 1st Martin that arrived was not her husband. “When she saw him she, however she recoiled in surprise. Not until he had spoken to her affectionately, reminding her of things they had done in and talked about, specifically mentioning the white hosen in the trunk, did she fall upon his neck and kiss him;

In The Return of Martin Guerre, one man's impersonation of an heir from an influential peasant family in the French village of Artigat ultimately leads to his public execution. The tale of Arnaud du Tilh alias Pansette (meaning "the belly") is full of ironies, not the least of which is his death at the hands of a man who by some accounts harbored some admiration for the quick-witted peasant. Set in a time and place where a hardly discernible line separated proper behavior from that which was grounds for death, du Tilh was guilty of more than one serious charge. Yet he was well-known as a strong farmer, loving husband, shrewd rural-merchant, and eloquent speaker. Arnaud's actions are not the result of his own audacity, rather of

(pg.30) Later, he will tell the judge, without remorse, that he killed the Arab “because of the sun.” In truth, there are extenuating circumstances for his crime: the preceding scuffle with the man, the beginning of sunstroke, the lack of premeditation, the consumption of wine, the reflex action of pulling the trigger, and the defensive instinct taking over. But Meursault remains indifferent to murder, and fails to defend himself. Ironically, he is convicted as much for his psychological indifference, his selfish and anti-social behavior, and his lack of mourning for his mother, as for his actual crime. Somehow, when the prosecution was asked: “est-it accuse d’avoir enterre sa mere ou d’avoir tue un homme?” it was perfectly acceptable to assert: “j’accuse cet homme d’avoir enterre une mere avec un coeur de criminal.” (pg.47)

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

There is a stereotypical understanding that all monsters resemble outward evil qualities from the beginning. Yet, with deeper insight monster can encompass a broad range of persons, including monsters who hide behind a false reality. In the novel, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, Madame Defarge represents a hidden monster archetype as her quiet demeanor masks her radical actions. Madame Defarge hides her true intentions and vengeance she wants on the aristocracy of France.

In this particular scene, the magistrate changes the topic rather abruptly from his love for Maman, to which he responded he loved "the same as anyone"(p. 67), to the murder scene. What followed was a vast discussion on Meursault's belief in God, which he felt rather apathetic about; however, the magistrate, waving a crucifix to his face refers to him as the "antichrist" (p. 71). And later, during the trial, the judge and the prosecuting attorney seem more intrigued by the fact that Meursault did not grieve at his mother's funeral and got involved with Marie the day after it, than the actual act that had been committed: the assassination of a man.