The Reality Of Bertrandes Innocence Essay -- essays research papers

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 back her up. She simply read and interpreted the story, as many historians must do to come up with plausible reasons for things; however, she interpreted the evidence incorrectly. This impostor known as Arnaud du Tilh, who played a husband, father, friend, nephew and brother for three years, deceived an entire town. However, Davis has chosen Bertrande Guerre as a co-conspirator, with little grounds to base her conclusion upon. Therefore, I still have found that Bertrande Guerre truly believed that Arnaud du Tilh was her husband, making her an unknowing player in the entire charade.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Natalie Davis made the point that Bertrande must have known that the new Martin was an impostor due to their sexual relationship and the differences therein (110). However, this point is hard to believe due to the fact that Bertrande and Martin were married for nine years without having intercourse, and when they finally did, it was in order to conceive their future son, Sanxi (Finlay, 558). Only a few months after Sanxi was born, Martin disappeared for over eight years, which is a long time for a woman to remember the specific details of a sexual relationship that couldn’t have lasted for more than a few months (Finlay, 558). Even if Bertrande had noticed a difference in the sexual relationship, she would have doubted her recollections, not having any kind of proof or true memories of those sexual experiences (Finlay, 558). This â€Å"new Martin† could have also become more sexually experienced while soldiering, explaining his newfound confidence (Finlay, 558).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The two men seemed to have com... ...wn, Natalie Davis made up a tale of what happened, ignoring the actual story that had been recorded by one of the lead characters who was there at the time, Jean de Coras. While her points had good merit, there was little evidence besides her opinion and suspicion that backed her up. Bertrande de Rols was deceived by this man, just as everyone else was. Whether she enjoyed her time spent with Arnaud is not important, it is whether or not she was fooled. While there were many who were suspicious, and many who were uncertain of Bertrande’s innocence, there was not a majority that truly believed she was a co-conspirator. She was not proven guilty by Jean de Coras nor was no proven guilty by the townspeople. The townspeople had fallen for Arnaud’s acting, and it is certain that Bertrande had fallen for it as well. And as each of these people would say, Arnaud was a wonderful actor, who was educated in Martin’s life and the people within it. Stories such as these are reminders as to why history is not always objective, and that historians have the right to interpret it in any way that they choose. However, a good historian will always have his critic.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚