journey to Toulouse

a close reading of a moment from Janet Lewis' The Wife of Martin Guerre
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I found it difficult to read the descriptive passages scattered throughout the novel, so I decided I'd better do a close reading on one of them. I imagine Lewis wouldn't have included them if they didn't serve some purpose.

The passage I'm examining begins on page 89 with "All the way to Toulouse", and ends on the next page with the words "dependent upon her." Bertrande has just finished a series of conversations that confirm two things for her: she stands alone in her accusation against Arnaud du Tilh, and she is already seeing the fruit of the seeds of discontent she has sown.

It's with these reproaches that Bertrande leaves for Toulouse. Lewis tells us that Bertrande de Rols rides between Pierre Guerre and the housekeeper - the former in front, the latter behind. On a first read, this seems like a superfluous detail. But given that we know that it is in Toulouse that Bertrande - with her uncle, her sole supporter - at last proves that Arnaud du Tilh has impersonated her husband for three years, while in Artigues, no one had believed her, least of all the housekeeper, the order in which the three travelers ride seems more than just a small coincidence.

It's also interesting to note that here, she is "Bertrande de Rols", not "Bertrande", or "the wife of Martin Guerre". It's a subtle difference that appears particularly in this third section of the novel, one that emphasizes how she no longer considers herself the wife of "Martin Guerre" (who we of course know to be du Tilh). By referring to herself as Bertrande of the de Rols family, she further separates herself from the Guerre family.

Lewis then gives us a paragraph of scenery description to parse - very generous of her. Bertrande, Uncle Pierre, and the housekeeper travel through many valleys, alongside a river. They see many sights: a church, lots of nature, and farms. While such things would make a very nice montage in a movie, the amount of scenery detail crammed into the many clauses is slightly overwhelming. Why the church? The trees? The farms?

All these are valid questions. And it's probably possible to analyze the importance of every single valley, every single name, and every single type of fruit. But it's important to realize that - as Lewis reminds us - this is the very same journey that Bertrande had imagined Martin taking when he disappeared (on page 31, if anyone was wondering). Her imagination is coming to life - and with such vivid detail, too. The fact that Bertrande can now put names to places, and identify her surroundings with concrete details, tells us that what has long been kept secret in her mind is now made manifest in the physical world. This descriptive paragraph of scenery precedes and preview what will take place in Toulouse - the moment when Bertrande's suspicions are indeed realized with the reappearance of Martin Guerre.

Is all this really hidden in the passage? Maybe. Maybe not. But it's nice to think that the clues were there in the first place, if you had only thought to look deeper.