Aside from the extensive information provided by Coras and Le Sueur, other sources were also used to reconstruct the life of Martin Guerre. Various authors’ perspectives, such as those of G. Doublet, make guest appearances throughout the novel. Furthermore, they provide important historical facts to enhance the validity of the seemingly fictional story. G. Doublet achieves this by informing the readers that “a married couple who had not had a pregnancy after a certain period of time was a perfect target for a charivari, a carivari or calivari, as it was called in the area around Pamiers” (20). Dispersed throughout the novel, these important facts allow Davis to elaborate on events during the trial despite her lack of first-hand knowledge.
Rather than continuously using an author’s perspective of history, Davis also proves her point based on historical archives. When commenting on Martin Guerre himself, she asks “was it so unusual for a man in sixteenth-century villages and burgs to change his name and fashion a new identity? Some of this went on all the time. The Daguerres left Hendae, became the Guerres, and changed their ways” (40). This factual information, provided by “The Archives Departmentales de la Haute-Garonne,” provides specific historical reasoning as to why it is common for a man to change his identity. By citing actual instances in the year 1551, these archives actually allow the reader to firmly believe that this practice actually did go on “all the time.” By viewing “the front cover with whimsical pictures of soldiers” depicted in the “Archives departmentales de l’Ariege,” Davis is able to use another archive to prove that her story is in historical context. She uses this “front cover” to remind readers that “there are also marriage contracts in which the groom specifies how the bride will be fed and lodged by his parents if he should decide to go to Spain after the wedding” (24). Davis’ assumption of these marriage contracts is incredibly convincing due to the fact that she utilizes pictures, rather than the commonly used text, to help prove this historical point.
According to her background information in the introduction of Martin Guerre, Davis also discovers the past based on “letters and diaries, autobiographies, memoirs, family histories…literary sources-plays, lyric poems, and stories” (1). Since those documents frequently neglect to depict peasant life, she also uses “various criminal jurisdictions” (3). Davis goes as far as searching “through notarial contracts in villages all over the diocese of Rieux and Lombez” (5). While searching for the character for her novel, Davis becomes worldlier in her visits to Hendaye, Artigat, Sajas, and Burgos. These documents, combined with her first-hand experiences while searching for documents in distant places, add to her convincing nature as an author.
Although she uses an extensive amount of historical information to strengthen her believability in the novel, Davis clearly enhances many of the instances with her own opinion. In one illustruation, she assumes that “the young men who fenced and boxed with Martin must have darkened their faces, put on women’s clothes, and assembled in front of the Guerre house, beating on wine vats, ringing bells, and rattling swords” (20). These frequent passages are believable to the reader due to her vivid descriptions of what she thinks “must” have happened. Commenting on the same instance, Davis even goes on to say that “it was indeed humiliating” (20). Davis admits in the first pages of the novel that some of her research is more hearsay than anything else, since she attempts to fill the gaps she could not support with historical answers. Her assumptions are a necessary tool that she must use in order for her writing to read more like a story rather than simply a factual account. When historical accounts can be read as stories, the readers are much more likely to be interested. Since her opinions provide a more interesting aspect to the story itself, the result is that Davis increasingly becomes more able to capture the readers’ trust.
Despite her lack of first-hand accounts of Martin Guerre and his life, Natalie Zemon Davis is able to use a wide variety of tools in order to expose the principle themes of peasant life in 16th century France. Through her clever combination of intelligent authors, historical archives, and her own knowledge as a worldly author, she is able to provide a convincing argument supporting the validity of her story. Davis’ immense experiences convince me that her display of the struggle between Catholics and Protestants, the role of women in the 1500s, and numerous other portrayals are without doubt, historical fact.
Examine the means by which Davis reconstructs the life of Martin Guerre.
What accounts does she use? (look at footnotes)
What assumptions and guesses does she make?
How does she manage to write this book based on what she has?
Second hand accounts- la sauer and coras
No accounts- other knowledge, other information
Asses your confidence in Davis’ conclusions.
Does she convince you when she guesses?
The fact that this book is not fiction, nor historical fiction, but rather a true story, makes this book much more enjoyable and fascinating.
Some true stories that come about throughout our history are more bizarre than fictional creations and this is one of those stories. I thought that Davis created a historical document that reads more like a novel than a text book. The characters were all properly explained and depicted and the settings used throughout the book seemed to be properly represented.
Davis was able to make a compilation of boring facts amount to an interesting story. She keeps it short and sweet, gets to the point and makes it as exciting as possible. I was thoroughly impressed with a book that I initially thought I would not enjoy. If you are looking to read about a historical event that has not been done to death, The Return of Martin Guerre is a bit off the beaten path and a nice change of pace.
In the 16th Century, a young man returned to his native home town after his long disappearence. Although his looks were slightly different, people accepted this man with open arms. He took the place of the old Martin Guerre, returning to his family and to his wife. But it is only later, when the real Martin Guerre returned and after some of the men in Guerre's family had become suspicious about the new Martin Guerre, that the other man was showned to be an impostor.
Two men left written accounts of the Martin Guerre incident: one, Guillaume Le Sueur, is a little known figure and therefore does not receive much attention from Davis. Instead, the focus is on the other author, Jean de Coras, one of the trial judges in the Guerre case and a famous French legal scholar. Davis attempts to psychologically penetrate the mind of Coras, giving the reader copious background information on Coras and his accomplishments. What emerges is a portrait of a really remarkable and likeable fellow, a man who sympathized with the fake Martin Guerre because of the mental ability this "Martin" showed during his interrogations.
In the case of Martin Guerre, Davis exposes the greater themes of peasant life in 16th century France, the French legal system, the struggle between Catholics and Protestants, and the role of women in that period.
