The Return of Martin Guerre

In this chapter, Davis describes the unhappy conditions in which Martin may have found himself before and during his marriage to Bertrande de Rols. She explains that Martin was unable to consummate his marriage to Bertrande, which “may not have been the first of Martin’s misfortunes” (19). Before his marriage at age fourteen, Martin lived in a household of mostly women, which might have made it difficult for him to relate to the boys his age in Artigat. As well, Martin may have encountered some more significant social problems. Martin’s early years took place in the Basque country, which means that the French language may have been a challenge for him, and he also had the problem of his name: Martin was an unusual name for this part of France, and one that the locals used to refer to animals.

Witchcraft, or “a sorceress jealous of the Guerres and their fine alliance with the Rols or the agent of a jealous man or woman” (21), was generally blamed for Martin’s problems in the marriage bed. Davis explains that the beliefs of the times would have assumed that “once a boy had his pubic hair, the pricks of the flesh were thought to start naturally” (20), so no one anticipated Martin’s troubles.