Monday, January 21, 2008

At left we see an image from the Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, an illuminated Book of Hours from the 15th century. The illustration appears in the month of June, representing the peasants at work in the field, with the duke's Parisian palace in the background. As you can see, the women are working alongside the men.

The world of peasants is difficult to reconstruct, mainly because of a lack of sources. We can read Alberti's, Erasmus's, or Castiglione's views easily enough, although we have to work to understand them, but the thoughts and feelings of peasants are for the most part lost to us. Only in occasional cases, particularly when such people have interactions with the legal system, do we peek under the veil. The Return of Martin Guerre represents one such case.

Both the book and the film that gave rise to it resort to a combination of scholarship and imagination to construct a story. Davis tells us in the Preface that she became the historical consultant to the film, only to find herself dissatisfied with some of the simplifications to which the film had to resort in order to arrive at a convincing dramatization. She then set out to explore the many sides to the questions the story raised for her. This book is the result. Yet she, too, has to use her own inferences where the record falls short, mainly in the intriguing question concerning Bernard de Rols's involvement of Arnaud du Tilh's imposture. Did Martin's wife know that her new husband was not the same man who abandoned her years earlier? How else could one explain the success of the renewed marriage and Arnaud's acceptance by the village? Why does Davis arrive at the conclusion she does, and is any other conclusion possible? These are the key questions for you to keep in mind as you read the entire account.

Questions:

• In the Introduction, Davis enumerates her sources, their contributions and their limitations. Be able to explain what these are.
• What do we know about the origins of the Guerre family and their exodus to Artigat? What is the limit of our knowledge? How does Davis try to explain it?
• What does the marriage between Martin and Bertrande show us about the social and economic status of these peasants, and about marriage among people of this particular class?
• A charivari is a ritual that rural people developed to respond publicly to those who violated cultural norms. Possible targets were old men married to much younger wives, passive men married to notorious scolds, or as in this case, unconsummated marriages. Do we do anything similar today?
• What do we learn about the status of women in the society of 16th-century Artigat?
• What were Bertrande's options, both during the period of the unconsummated marriage and during the period of her abandonment?
• On pgs. 46-47, Davis discusses clandestine marriages. What role might this practice have had in explaining Arnaud's and Bertrande's invented marriage?
• On pg. 48, she mentions the appearance of Protestantism in the neighborhood of Artigat. What role might Protestant doctrine have played?
• How did the new Martin's role begin to come into question? Why do you think Arnaud/Martin made the demands on his "uncle" that he did?

Laurel Carrington carringt@stolaf.edu
Most recent update: January 18, 2008

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