The Return of Martin Guerre by Natalie DavisThe Return of Martin Guerre written by Natalie Davis gives the public a rare glimpse into the world of peasant life in 16th century France. It also gives modern audiences the opportunity to examine and compare their own identity and questions of self. What makes the story so interesting to today's viewers and readers is the relevance of the story and the characters within it to our times. This story is about the history of ordinary people rather than royalty and generals, the usual subjects of history. The story mainly focuses on Bertrande de Rols and her place in 16th century society, particularly as a wife. At the age of nine, Bertrande was married to Martin Guerre, a young peasant of Basque origin. For several years, the two men have struggled to consummate their marriage. In 1548, Martin fled his village of Artigat, France, to join the Spanish army, leaving his twenty-two-year-old wife Bertrande and a young son. After eight years of quiet despair, an imposter Arnaud du Tilh nicknamed “Pansette” arrived in the village in 1548, in the guise of Martin Guerre. It's no wonder that Bertrande finally finds fulfillment of her hopes and dreams for a better life with the new Martin. The couple's marital happiness ends the day Arnaud argues with his uncle Pierre Guerre over his desire to sell part of his ancestral lands. According to Basque tradition and custom, a man must never sell his ancestral land, which leads Pierre to become suspicious of the identity of his nephew and he decides to sue Arnaud as an imposter. From a modern point of view, it would not be considered viable to confuse the identity of Martin Guerre and Arnaud du Tilh with any major...... middle of paper ......t to the accusations made under the new Martin Guerre. Jean de Coras was proven to have Protestant connections and was ultimately killed for these connections. (100) However, he was also a highly educated, learned and passionate man with a distinguished career in law and, after the case of Martin Guerre, in the literary world. The idea that someone of such high rank adopted the new religion shows that their influence at the time cannot be ignored. Overall, the book is very interesting and what makes Davis' book special is his concise presentation of daily life in the early Renaissance. The journey through village life, village institutions, the feeling of the businesses the people ran, learning about legal procedures, "dangerous new ideas" about marriage from old ones as well as inconvenient old ones. Through this journey, we learn that life in the past was not so different from today..