The Return of Martin Guerre by Natalie Davis The Return of Martin Guerre written by Natalie Davis offers audiences a rare glimpse into the world of peasant life in 16th century France. It also offers modern audiences the chance to examine and confront their own identities and questions. What makes the story so interesting to modern-day viewers and readers is how relevant the story and the people in it are to our times. This story is about the history of common people rather than royalty and generals, the usual subjects of history. The main focus of the story is Bertrande de Rols and her place in 16th century society, especially as a wife. At the age of nine, Bertrande was married to Martin Guerre, a young farmer of Basque origin. For several years the two have difficulty consummating their marriage. In 1548, Martin flees his village of Artigat, France, to join the Spanish army, leaving behind his twenty-two-year-old wife Bertrande and a young son. After eight years of living in silent desperation, an impostor Arnaud du Tilh, nicknamed "Pansette", shows up in the village in 1548, in the guise of Martin Guerre. It is no wonder that Bertrande has finally found fulfillment in her hopes and dreams of a better life with the new Martin. The couple's marital happiness collapses the day Arnaud argues with his uncle, Pierre Guerre, about his desire to sell part of his ancestral land. According to Basque tradition and custom, a man must never sell his ancestral land, this makes Pierre suspicious of his nephew's identity and decides to denounce Arnaud as an impostor. From a modern point of view, one might assume that this is not the case. possible to confuse the identity of Martin Guerre and Arnaud du Tilh for some large...... middle of paper......t to the accusations made under the new Martin Guerre. Jean de Coras was shown to have Protestant connections and was eventually killed for them. (100) However, he was also a very cultured, cultured and passionate man, with an excellent career in the legal field and, after the case of Martin Guerre, in the literary world. The idea that someone of such high status embraced the new religion shows that his influence at the time cannot be ignored. Overall the book is very interesting and what makes Davis' book special is his concise presentation of everyday life in the early Renaissance. The journey through village life, village institutions, the perception of the businesses that people ran, learning about legal procedures, about "dangerous new ideas" about marriage from old and uncomfortable ones. Through this journey we learn that life back then is not as different as our life is today.