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Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Wife of Martin Guerre, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Love and Loyalty
Gender and Madness
Modernity, Tradition, and Change
Morality, Legality, and Deception
Summary
Analysis
Bertrande returns to Artigues, where everyone blames her for destroying the peace. Sanxi looks at Bertrande with wary eyes. Bertrande pays no attention to the summer flowers or the wheat harvest. Martin’s sisters appeal the verdict of the trial to the court of Toulouse, and in August, the court calls for a second trial.
Even though the court has validated her suspicions about the returned Martin, Bertrande is clearly unhappy: she has none of the love of her children or her community, and she can’t appreciate nature—something which always moved her in the past.
Themes
One day, the priest urges Bertrande to withdraw her accusation. Even if Bertrande is right, the new Martin, who is generous and kind, is not a rogue: the priest values him more than the selfish and impatient Martin who ran away. Seeing that Bertrande does not protest, the priest insists that Bertrande loves the new Martin, and that this love proves that he is the old Martin. Bertrande cries that Arnaud’s act of making her love him has “damned her soul.” The priest insists that while there is some doubt that Martin is Arnaud, Bertrande risks killing her own husband and thereby committing an even greater sin. Bertrande decides that she must demand Arnaud du Tilh’s death.
In this scene, the priest reveals that his terms for the case are different than Bertrande’s.The priest admits that the prisoner might be Arnaud, but the case is not about the truth for him. Instead, it is about what makes everyone in Artigues, including Bertrande, happy. Bertrande’s terms are completely different: she wants what is true and morally just, even at the expense of her own happiness. Happiness has become Bertrande’s enemy because it was the very thing that caused her to slip into moral error.
Themes
A few days later, Martin’s sister kneels before Bertrande. Weeping, she asks Bertrande to tell the judges she was insane when she accused the returned Martin of being an imposter. That way, the family can be happy again. Bertrande says that she cannot deny the truth. Martin’s sister says that it is the truth only to Bertrande and to Pierre, who distrusts change. Bertrande says that if Martin is Martin Guerre, the real Arnaud would have presented himself. Martin’s sister says that it is to Arnaud’s advantage to pretend to be dead. Bertrande apologizes, but makes no promises.
Martin’s sister accuses Pierre and Bertrande of disliking change: they prefer to cling to the familiar past, refusing to acknowledge that a new way of life might be better for everyone. In a sense, the return of Martin—whether he was a changed Martin or not Martin at all—brought a freshness to Artigues that their isolated location had previously denied them. Turing a blind eye to the possibility that this returned man might be an imposter might be immoral, yes, but should moral obligation take precedence over an improved quality of life for the masses?
Themes
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One day, Bertrande sits on the stoop beside the housekeeper. The housekeeper slits a dove’s throat and drains its blood into a bowl. Bertrande watches with pity. The housekeeper says that, ever since Bertrande’s “strange idea,” nothing has gone well for the family. Bertrande says that she cannot change the truth. The housekeeper, her face now lined with age, says that she wishes Bertrande were still deceived.
With no one to believe her, Bertrande is as helpless as the dove dying slowly in the housekeeper’s hands. As a symbol of love and innocence, the dove represents the values Bertrande is fighting for. Being asked to lie to herself and go against her intuition forces Bertrande to lose innocence as the bird loses its life.
Themes
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On the way to Toulouse, Bertrande rides between Pierre and the housekeeper. Bertrande is sure that Martin is dead and that Arnaud killed him: otherwise, Arnaud would not face his trial so calmly. Bertrande thinks of the words of the priest, Martin’s sister, and the housekeeper. She wonders if she should withdraw her accusation: is the happiness of those she loves worth “the secret weight of shame” on her soul? If the Toulouse court overturned the verdict, would it not be a sign from heaven? Bertrande imagines a happy scene by the hearth, but she can’t picture in it the faces of the imposter or herself. To Bertrande, Pierre stands for a stronger tradition than the church: the tradition of simple authority without subterfuge or charm.
Bertrande acknowledges that if she were to withdraw her case, she would be the only one to suffer. The weight of shame she would have to bear would be “secret”—no one else would suffer from it. This reveals that Bertrande’s determination in her case is about personal moral purity—about attaining the ability to live not with others but with herself. In fighting for this, Bertrande necessarily fights against her traditional role as a woman in her society. Women are expected to serve others, but her Bertrande stands up for her individuality. Paradoxically, though, she is asserting herself in defense of the rigid moral code that has subjugated her in the first place.
Themes
On the third day of the trip, it is so hot that the travelers stop often under the shade of trees. That night, they cross the river into Toulouse and check into an inn. At dinner, Bertrande hears other guests talking loudly. The hostess says that the guests are discussing the Catholics’ brutal murder of Protestants in Amboise. Pierre says that the world is falling apart: judging by the faces of the guests, a rebellion against the French crown could start here in Toulouse.
The world beyond Artigues is changing rapidly as people fight to the death to defend their beliefs. Bertrande, too, fights to defend her morals. Paradoxically, although she is fighting on behalf of traditional values of loyalty and moral purity, her individual tenacity challenges the very morals she is trying to defend.
Themes
The next morning, Bertrande awakes feeling unrested. After breakfast, she follows Pierre through crowded streets to the courthouse. Bertrande wonders why she is in this “unhappy” town, pursuing the death of a man who was kind to her. As she climbs the courthouse steps, she feels the finality of her decision, and terror fills her. Why has she ignored the “holy counsel” the priest gave her a few days ago? Feeling faint, Bertrande enters the courthouse on Pierre’s arm.
Bertrande fears that in seeking justice for a crime, she is committing a crime. She reflects on the joy that the imposter undeniably brought her. Even the town in which she makes this unforgiving decision is “unhappy.” This self-doubt recalls Bertrande’s feelings toward Monsieur Guerre’s unforgiving nature—always mix of reverence and disapproval. Bertrande’s self-doubt indicates her ambivalence toward the moral purity she is trying to defend: in a sense, she grasps that she is working against her best interest.
Themes
In the courtroom, Bertrande and Pierre are questioned separately before the judges and the prisoner. While Bertrande is questioned, Arnaud du Tilh watches her with a tender gaze. She wonders why he doesn’t return her hatred. She also wonders why he didn’t try to escape when Bertrande first suspected him. After questioning, Bertrande is taken back to the inn. She feels a great weight on her chest, making it difficult to breathe. She lies in bed, wanting nothing but to be free of Arnaud. Pierre returns. While Pierre is sure that the man is not Martin, he was nervous during questioning. The crowd sneered at him and regarded him as a peasant. Pierre feels that he and Bertrande have lost the case.
Far from comforting her or persuading her to drop her case, the fact that Arnaud loves Bertrande unconditionally only reinforces Bertrande’s hatred of him: it convinces her that the man is not her husband, who was, tyrannical and unfeeling toward her. In loving her unconditionally, Arnaud caused Bertrande to abandon her morals and commit a sin that she regrets. Unconditional love sounds like a positive thing, but it has only created conflict and uncertainty for Bertrande, who increasingly understands that she must choose between her morals and her happiness.
Themes
Meanwhile, the court hears from old and new witnesses. Many believe that the prisoner is Arnaud, many that he is Martin, while many others cannot tell. Finally, evidence materializes to determine that the prisoner is Martin Guerre: both the prisoner and Martin Guerre have two broken teeth in the lower jaw, an ulcer on one cheek, and a scar on the right eyebrow.
The court decides that the prisoner is Martin solely on physical detail. Significantly, however, the determining features are superficial and not natural: Arnaud could have self-inflicted the scars and broken jaw. In this way, physical appearance is so alterable that it is not a sound basis for determining the case.
Themes
Then, a witness named Carbon Bareau testifies that the prisoner is his sister’s son. Weeping, Carbon says that the prisoner is a man with no respect for God or the law, but who has a way of “stealing the heart.” Arnaud du Tilh’s brothers testify that the prisoner resembles their brother, though they’re not sure that the man is really him. Martin’s sisters and the priest testify that the prisoner is Martin. The housekeeper testifies that the prisoner is Martin. She says that when Martin returned from his absence, he remembered exactly where a certain pair of clothes was stored.
Carbon Bareau’s testimony reflects Bertrande’s impression of the prisoner’s charm and skill with argument. Therefore, this testimony validates what Bertrande felt she was alone in perceiving: that showing excessive kindness in order to be deceptive is a greater evil than being blunt and unfeeling. His argument mirrors Bertrande’s inner conflict in a broader sense, as well: she would rather be miserable but moral than exist in a state of ignorant bliss.
Themes
By late afternoon, the courthouse is stiflingly hot. The judges finish the examinations and gather to decide the verdict. The judges reason that if Bertrande had mistaken the prisoner for her husband, then the Rochefort soldier could easily have mistaken Arnaud for Martin. Moreover, it was not humanly possible for a person to resemble and impersonate another so well. Lastly, Bertrande’s outcry against the death sentence was favorable for the prisoner. In conclusion, the judges decide that the prisoner is Martin Guerre.
Bertrande’s protest of the death sentence corroborates her moral nature and therefore should corroborate the moral motive of her case. The court, however, cannot see into this moral realm. Instead, they interpret everything in terms of its value as evidence.
Themes
As the clerk prepares to write down the verdict, there is a hubbub by the door. A soldier comes through the crowd. The thumps from his two attendants’ halberds is accompanied by what sounds like a third halberd: the thump from the soldier’s wooden leg. The soldier, who has a scar on his right eyebrow and an ulcer on one cheek, looks at the judges coldly. One of the judges exclaims that the soldier is Martin Guerre. The soldier says that he is Martin Guerre, the father of Sanxi. When questioned, the soldier shows more knowledge of Arnaud du Tilh than the prisoner had—but the same level of knowledge of the life of Martin Guerre.
Even the appearance of a man who seems to be the real Martin Guerre fails to resolve the case. Arnaud and Martin resemble each other closely, and they both have knowledge of themselves and each other. This shows that circumstantial and physical evidence is not foolproof in determining identity. Indeed, the latest newcomer has used the same strategies as the prisoner to prove his identity.
Themes
Unsure what to decide, the judges call the witnesses to examine the prisoner and the soldier. Arnaud’s brothers are unable to tell which man is their brother, but Martin’s sisters fall tearfully into the soldier’s arms, apologizing for their mistake. Although the case is turning against him, Arnaud du Tilh’s dignity does not waver. Meanwhile, a guard is sent to fetch Bertrande and Pierre. Being told nothing by the guard, Bertrande and Pierre suspect that they have lost.
Martin’s sisters immediately recognize the newcomer as their brother. Although the newcomer and the prisoner look similar enough as to be identical to an outsider, siblings have an instinctual recognition. Arnaud’s brothers may have the same instinctual recognition, but here they claim uncertainty, perhaps to protect their criminal brother.
Themes
After Pierre enters the courtroom, Bertrande is sent in. When she arrives in front of the judges, she lifts her eyes and sees the beloved husband she thought was dead standing next to Arnaud du Tilh. Bertrande clasps her hands and sinks to her knees in front of Martin Guerre. Bertrande begs Martin to forgive her. She says that her sin came from her desire for him—ever since she realized she had been deceived, she has striven to rid herself of the man who destroyed her honor. Tears run quietly down Bertrande’s face.
Bertrande does not simply blame the imposter for what happened: she also responsibility for the sin of adultery. This is because Bertrande believes deeply in the instincts that had immediately told her that the returned man was not her husband. Bertrande’s mission throughout the case was not to punish a man who wronged her but to absolve herself and uphold the morals with which she was raised.
Themes
A judge leans forward and apologizes to Bertrande for the court’s mistake. Martin says that Bertrande’s tears do not move his pity. Since Bertrande knows him “better than any living soul,” Martin blames her alone for the dishonor that has befallen him. Bertrande sees the absolute authority of Monsieur Guerre in Martin’s face. She retreats from Martin, accidentally stepping close to Arnaud du Tilh. Arnaud asks Bertrande to have mercy on him—a rogue who became an “honest man” out of desire for her beauty and grace. Bertrande says that Arnaud’s love robbed her of her husband’s respect. Bertrande has no mercy for Arnaud now because he had no mercy for her body or her soul.
The cruel, unfeeling character of the newcomer, exemplified in his refusal to forgive Bertrande confirms his identity as the real Martin Guerre: Martin is the unchanged image of his father’s values and manners. In comparing Arnaud and Martin, Bertrande distinguishes love and order. Bertrande’s relationship with Martin was loveless but moral, meanwhile her relationship with Arnaud was loving but immoral . Bertrande accepts Martin’s disrespect because it restores the social order that Arnaud’s arrival upended. Her commitment to her morals is so fierce that she adheres to them even against her best interest.
Themes
Bertrande’s case was not about setting a situation to rights. Instead, Bertrande loses everything she cares about in order to obtain individual justice.
Themes
The court convicts Arnaud du Tilh of imposture, adultery, rape, and sacrilege. Arnaud confesses that he learned the details about Martin Guerre’s life through Martin’s friends, servants, and family. At first, he planned to stay in Artigues only long enough to steal money. On September 12, 1560, Arnaud is made to pray in front of the church in Artigues. Then, he is hanged and burned in front of the Guerre’s house. His possessions are given to the King. It is unknown whether Martin returned to the wars or to Artigues, or what happened to Bertrande. Usually, when hate and love “exhaust the soul,” the body doesn’t live long.
Significantly, readers do not learn what happens to Bertrande after she gets her “solitary justice.” This silence suggests what the final line alludes: that once such a justice has been obtained, there is nothing else to life. The novel draws a connection between the body and the spirit and suggests that a person’s spiritual feelings sustain their physical self. For Bertrande, love and hatred became so intertwined that her soul is thoroughly tortured. Bertrande’s alluded death by spiritual exhaustion recalls the doves that slowly die in the housekeeper’s unrelenting hands. Her commitment to a rigid and regressive moral code has robbed her of personal happiness and denied her a chance at love.
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