Inside Bertrande's head

“The spindle dropped to the floor, the distaff feel across her knees, and though she sat like a woman turned into stone and felt her heart freezing slowly in her bosom, the air which entered her nostrils seemed to her more pure than any she had breathed in years, and the fever seemed to have left her body.” The Wife of Martin Guerre pg. 57

    Just before the narrative launches into the interior expanse of Bertrande’s thoughts, she declares that she is not mad (though impose upon, deceived, and betrayed into adultery). This realization is presumably what leads her to believe she is breathing more pure air than she has in years, because her senses affirm the clarity of her conviction. The spindle drops to the floor, and the distaff, a very large awkward implement used for turning wool into thread, falls onto her knees. This is a very striking image (the novel is full of them), and incredibly realistic. With the supplementation of these details, we can see her very clearly. Lewis pairs these concrete details with the fantastical metaphor that Madame Guerre is turning into stone and her heart is freezing in her chest.

   The interesting part of this description comes from the difference in perspective. “Like a woman turned into stone” is a perception from outside: such and such looks like stone. The description moves into her perspective “felt her heart freezing”. This small change in perspective happens throughout the novel, and it helps create a more full picture of her. The third person allows us to see things about her that she cannot. The following sentence, “She began then quietly to array before her in this clear passionless light the facts of her situation” it refers to Bertrande’s cold countenance and the literal surroundings, connecting to the pure air she breathes. This passage, like many in the book, connects the surroundings to Bertrande’s interiority.

   This passage shifts from free indirect discourse into an FID that mimics her frantic thoughts, “But could she rid herself? If she asked him to go, would he go?” These questions directed toward herself continue, and the passage has the narrative fully in her head.
   I was amazed at how the first half of the novel remained so captivating despite employing a great deal of summary and very little scene. I found it interesting to observe developments and changes in her voice as the narrative progressed.