The question of whether Arnaud du Tilh impersonated Martin Guerre in sixteenth-century France is no longer relevant to the study of history. However, the narratives that historians and popular history-makers create in their works is. In their attempts to contextualize the curious life story of Martin Guerre each history-maker further blurs the line between fiction and History; Davis seeks to implement a feminist understanding of the characters, Finlay over-simplifies character motivations, and Vigne manipulates the story’s timeline to suit a dramatic narrative fit for the silver-screen. While each history-maker has in some way obscured Martin Guerre’s life story: their individual contributions and analyses create a more rounded and holistic …show more content…
Natalie Zemon Davis imbeds the themes of an oppressive patriarchal rule and Protestant theology in her book The Return of Martin Guerre. Davis’s creation of a mastermind like character found in Bertrande is largely unsubstantiated by the historical record of Coras. Prof. Robert Finlay notes this point in his hyper-critical rebuke of Davis’s work in The American Historical Review. For example, in her book The Return of Martin Guerre, Davis notes that the appearance of a soldier from Rochefort who questioned the identity of martin motivated the couple “to be prepared to counter his argument” [and create a testimony for Martin that] “must always match her testimony; there must be intimate details that no one could challenge.” This quote highlights the implementation of a feminist narrative adopted by Davis which manifests in the cunning portrait of Bertrande as an active participant in the deception of her family and community. Despite the historical depiction of Bertrande and her family being unaware and deceived by Arnaud. Davis’s understanding of the characters is questioned by Finlay. His essay, published in The American Historical Review, goes as far to suggest that her writing calls into question “What distinguishes the writing of history from that of fiction.” While Bertrande’s pragmatic and opportunistic disposition may have been silenced by Coras and the patriarchy, Davis’s dramatized …show more content…
Vigne brings a story previously reserved to medieval European historians and academics to a larger audience. Presenting Martin through a digestible and interesting medium of a movie resulted in a more meaningful and accessible version of history for the viewing public. Vigne and his writers over-dramatized the trial of Arnaud by centering their film on the theatrical court cases comprised of caricatured judges, vocal witnesses, and suspenseful cinematic effects. The lack of screen-time spent on the previous three years of deceit within the Guerre family and tension between “Martin” and his uncle Pierre produces its own historiographical narrative. A narrative which neglects to contextualize why Arnaud sought to reinvent himself and completely misses Davis’s assertion that Arnaud and Bertrande corroborated. While imperfect, Vigne’s movie rendition garnered the attention of the masses and democratized the story of Martin Guerre: through distorting the historical timeline to emphasis tragedy and
In Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front, characters such as Paul and his friends become indifferent to shocking elements of war through constant exposure to them. For example, the characters are unconcerned about the dangers of the front because they are accustomed to being on the front. In another instance, Paul’s friends show no emotions when they witness snipers killing enemy soldiers. Also, Kat finds the unusual effects of mortar shells amusing. These examples prove that through war, characters of the book have become indifferent to things that they would normally find shocking.
Martin Guerre from Artigat had left his wife Bertrande and their son Sanxi and their inheritance to seek adventure in Spain as a mercenary. After leaving his family for nearly nine years a man claiming to be Martin returns to the village to claim his wife and land. Bertrande accepts the man as being her husband and they have another child together. Martin has a dispute with Pierre over the management of the family estate and ownership of the rents from Matins land during his absence. During their dispute a passing by veteran had claimed that "Martin" is not who he claims to be. He said that Martin had lost a leg at the battle of Saint Quentin and that he really was Arnaud de Tihl from a neighboring village. Both Martin and Arnaud had soldered together in the war, where they had became friends. The Guerre family was very divided over the story. Pierre and his sons-in-law believe the soldier's story, and Pierres daughters and Bertrande continue to believe "Martin" is Martin. As their ca...
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 highlighted. The author gives a very effective and detailed insight to a peasant’s life during the time of Martin Guerre. Davis does a successful job of portraying the peasant lifestyle in sixteenth century France by accentuating the social, cultural, and judicial factors of everyday peasant life.
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 something more universal, so universal its results can be seen in other historical figures from the text. Du Tilh assumed Martin Guerre's identity because doing so represented a unique opportunity to test the extent of his abilities and leave behind his presently troubled life.
Janet Lewis, the author of The Wife of Martin Guerre, illustrates what family dynamics were like in the sixteenth century, “…for the extend of his father’s lifetime Martin would legally remain a minor” whereas, women’s identity and importance were only known through their husbands. However, within this novel Bertrande de Rols, wife of Martin Guerre, is known as herself; this is to express that the novel was written according to her experience as the wife of Martin Guerre. Even though, it wasn’t acceptable for women to go forward with such accusations, Bertrande de Rols did the right thing pursuing Arnaud as an impostor because she knew he was not her husband despite what everyone else said. After all, she knew Martin best.
It is my intention to compare the book, Dangerous Liaisons by Choderlos de Laclos, to its modern movie version, Cruel Intentions starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. I intend to examine how the original French text was modified in reference to plot, character, morals/values, and themes. I also plan to discuss how these transformations change the meaning of the story and reflect different cultural/historical contexts. There are some major differences between these two works, if only because of when they were written.
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.
After years of abandonment, an absent man presumed to be Martin Guerre appeared in front of a woman who longed for a strong love and different husband. An “obstinate and honorable” woman could no...
Many of Remarque’s ideas expressed in All Quiet on the Western Front were not completely new. Remarque emphasized things that portrayed the magnitude of issues soldiers face, and how the physical body and senses affects their emotional well-being. The ideas in All Quiet in the Western Front of not knowing the difference between sleep and death, seeing gruesome sights of people, and frustration towards people who cannot sympathize with soldiers, are also shown in Siegfried Sassoon’s “The Dug-Out”, Giuseppe Ungaretti’s “Vigil”, and Sassoon's’ “Suicide in the Trenches”.
Irony of War Exposed in Dulce et Decorum, Regeneration, and Quiet on the Western Front
Hewitt, Leah D. “Salubrious Scandals/Effective Provocations: Identity Politics Surrounding Lacombe Lucien,” South Central Review, Vol. 17, No. 3, Cinema Engage: Activist Filmmaking in French and Francophone Contexts, John Hopkins University Press, (Autumn 2000), pp. 71-85
Mr. Darnton’s book The Great Cat Massacre, reexamines French culture during the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries with the eyes of the peasant’s. Robert Darnton looks at the writings of the peasant’s, and traces them to their origins and compares them to other texts of similar origins and texts, to create credible accounts or views of particular topics of the people during the era. In this review you’re going to see a summary of the book, describing the various subjects of this book. After that I will comment on Mr. Darnton’s on some topics like his organization, writing style, and fairness to his subject material, then discuss the historical importance of the topics that Robert Darnton mentions in his book and give you my personal opinion of the book itself. Next I will discuss with you a battery of topics like why I chose the book, is the book controversial, what was the authors purpose for writing the book, what were some of the major themes, who or what Darnton’s sources were?
“Père Duchesne, no. 313”. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1973. Marquis de Ferreriès. Correspondence inédite. “The Réveillon Riot (28 April 1789)”.
The protagonists, The Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont, consider it their life’s ambition to sadistically control and dominate those around them through sexual intrigue. These two villains are indeed locked in psychological combat to see who can actually ‘out-do’ the other in stalking, capturing and destroying the souls of others. Taking absolute pleasure in ripping any virtue from the hearts of their prey, Merteuil and Valmont wave their accomplishments in front of each other like spoils of war. The less the chance of surrender, the more relentless is the pursuit.
In the article, “Madame de Pompadour and the Theaters of Power,” author Thomas E. Kaiser examines how Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson rose to become Madame de Pompadour, a very influential mistress to the King of France. Her rise was seen in both positive and negative lights, with her acquisition of power being questioned from those within the royal family and the public1. The life of a mistress was never an easy one, but Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson rose to the daunting task and succeeded where most had failed. Thomas E. Kaiser goes on to explain how Madame de Pompadour was viewed in court and society, how she influenced the King, King Louis XV, and how she was able to succeed in her own right, advancing further than most thought possible for a woman during that time.