The film The Return of Martin Guerre provides excellent insight into the law, religion, and daily life of the 16th century. The chaos of the Middle Ages during this era, filled with religious wars and the rise of Christianity, Protestantism, and the Renaissance, is evident in the film. We see that this era was largely guided by cruelty, suspicion, superstition, ignorance and mistrust. When Martin, the husband of Bertrande, arrives home one day after nearly a decadeÆs absence, he seems changed but is welcomed initially. When he asks for his profits while away, his uncle Pierre accuses him of not being ôMartin.ö Bertrande, abandoned in her marriage by the real Martin, longs for true love and does not argue against the new Martin as an ôidentity usurper.ö
The ôreturnedö Martin is suspect because of a number of reasons. He is characterized as being ôtoo niceö in comparison to the original Martin. In a show of primitive forensics, the shoemaker doubts the ônewö Martin is the ôoldö Martin, because his feet are two sizes smaller. Likewise, the love of Martin for Bertrande stands in contrast to the turmoil of BertrandeÆs relationship with the ôoldö Martin. Bertrande admits that ôOne day, some vagabonds slept in the barn,ö but unlike the vagabond who accuses the ônewö Martin of being an imposter she seems content to be loved by someone (Vigne, 1982).
The film does an excellent job of showing the era, which it fairly indicts due to its portrayal of the cruelty, ignorance, mistrust and suspicion that characterize it. We also see that the return of Martin throws into question the nature of human identity. For in the course of trying to ascertain if the ônewö Martin is the ôoldö Martin, we must question exactly what qualities or behaviors equate to ôidentity.ö For example, the new Martin is more mature, has a better attitude, and loves his wife more than the ôoldö Martin. However,
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