"The Return of Martin Guerre"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses this book in which a young man named Martin Guerre returns to his old home and his wife after a long absence, the result of an inheritance dispute in the convoluted legal times of the century. It discusses how the story turns when although everyone is happy, the supposedly returning Martin Guerre is revealed to be a man named Arnaud du Tihl. .

From the Paper:

"This individual impersonated the long departed well-to-do peasant named Martin Guerre, took over his identity, his wife and family, and his property. The true Martin left his wife Bertrande because of a squabble with his father-in-law. Thus, the original Guerre's motivation in leaving his wife and the area is clear. But what about that crucial actor's question regarding a 'character'-in this case, the historical, true-life characters-what are the other characters' motivations? In this case, Guerre's Bertrande may have apparently acquiesced to the impersonator's advances because of her fears of being an unprotected woman, alone in rough area. But Davis also suggests that the woman may have been more attracted to the impersonator than the 'real' man she married."

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