The Return Of Martin Guerre Character Analysis

Gender and Marriage in The Return of Martin Guerre During the sixteenth century, the role of men and women within society were distinctly determined and demonstrated in France. When it came to marriage, men had to remain faithful to his wife, while women also had to remain faithful to her husband. It was the man’s job to take care of his family and wife by being the provider. It was the woman’s job to keep honor to the family by being loyal wives and attentive mothers. Both the husband and wife were responsible to uphold these roles because divorce was not an option through the eyes of the church. In the sixteenth century, marriages were usually arranged at a very young age for both men and women in order to gain prosperity and property. In the novel The Return of Martin Guerre, Natalie Zemon Davis uses characters such as Bertrande and Martin/Arnaud to represent gender and marriage roles that were common during the sixteenth century in rural
It is not until the real Martin Guerre appears that Bertrande feels regret for her sins that she had mistaken a stranger for her husband. Davis shows the displease of Martin by stating: “Martin Guerre showed not a single sign of sorrow at the tears of Bertrande de Rols…Leave aside these tears…And don’t excuse yourself by my sisters nor my uncles; for there is neither father, mother, uncle, sister, or brother who ought better to know their son, nephew, or brother than the wife ought to know her husband” (Davis 1983, 86).
It is suggested by Davis in some way that Bertrande knew from the beginning that Arnaud was not her husband, but she played along because Arnaud treated her more like a wife than Martin did. Although Martin did not fulfill the role of how a husband should be with his wife and family, Bertrande brought dishonor to her family by becoming involved in a relationship outside of her