Download A Macat Analysis of Natalie Zemon Davis's The Return of Martin Guerre AudioBook Free
The bizarre storyline of Martin Guerre - a peasant who disappears from a tiny community in 16th-century France and whose place is considered by an imposter - has captivated historians for centuries. In her 1983 book, Natalie Zemon Davis, a historian with a special fascination with gender studies, examines the role of Martin Guerre's partner Bertrande in their fraudulent relationship. Davis argues that Bertrande plays an integral part in the deceit and immediately goes along with it. Her book helped spur a shift in the way historians looked at past occasions generally, and the role of women in a period where documentary research was lacking. She daringly used her imagination to reinterpret the story, and some scholars criticized her for "completing the spaces." But Davis was unrepentant about mixing literary techniques with historical research. The book became a best-seller and influenced other historians to chronicle the lives of individuals overlooked by traditional record books.
