The Return of Martin Guerre by Natalie Zemon Davis

Bertrande and other members of Martin’s family listened to him talk about their shared experiences and memories from the years before his exit from Artigat, and they all accepted him fully. In 1556, Arnaud du Tilh arrived to Artigat, calling himself Martin Guerre and reminiscing affectionately about old times he had shared with Martin’s family and friends. Humiliated and trapped by the constraints of patriarchal peasant society, Bertrande waited here, neither wife nor widow, for her husband to return for approximately eight years. Bertrande moved back into her childhood home to live with her mother, who had married Pierre Guerre, Martin’s uncle. In 1548, after disgracing himself by stealing a bit of grain from his father, Martin abandoned his wife and young baby and left for Spain. Martin’s humiliation was public, and Davis describes Martin as unhappy and restless, as a result of both this embarrassing series of events and Martin’s generalized sense of unease. The newlyweds needed assistance to consummate the marriage, and eight years passed before their son was born. They assimilated well enough for the young Martin to become engaged to Bertrande de Rols, the daughter of a respectable Artigat family, but not so well that Martin felt completely at ease in his new role of husband. Sanxi and his family adapted to life in their new village, learning a new language and changing their surname from Daguerre to Guerre. In 1527, Sanxi Daguerre, Martin Guerre’s father, moved his family from their home in the Basque region to Artigat, in the Languedoc region of France.

Three French peasants hold the leading roles in this legendary story: Martin Guerre, his wife Bertrande de Rols, and Arnaud du Tilh, the imposter who took advantage of Martin’s absence to usurp Martin’s position.

The Return of Martin Guerre by Natalie Zemon Davis