The Wife of Martin Guerre Close Reading p. 43-44

        I chose to analyze the scene of "Martin's" return because, when I first read it, I had a vague yet undeniable sense that this was not the real Martin. We find Bertrande sitting placidly in the kitchen with Sanxi, having experienced a moment of profound reflection culminating in a feeling of closure, when a sudden, unexpected hubbub penetrates her peace. It is introduced to us right after Bertrande says: "You must not make fun of sacred things." The significance of this juxtaposition should be noted, granted, both Arnaud du Tilh's deceit and Bertrande's willful denial of her suspicions could be considered sacrilege; indeed, Bertrande's future inner turmoil is presaged by this statement, and we can see an element of foreboding in that although she says it "as gravely as she could, neither of them was deceived." Lewis also notes that their position of the table "did not permit a view of the yard," and when Sanxi runs to the window, although he's "standing on his tiptoes, he still could not see much." To the reader, this detail brings to mind the previous instances when Bertrande would look out to the yard in yearning, expecting to see Martin at any moment, thus, her inability to see when he supposedly arrives, and the fact that she doesn't even try to, could be considered symbolic of her subsequent blindness. Then, through the use of anthropomorphism, Lewis tinges the depiction of the tumult with a strange hue that suggests something is out of place: "the noise, advancing through the kitchen, was approaching the Chamber." By describing the people's excitement with abstract words like "hubbub," "tumult," and "sound," Lewis dehumanizes it; this, in combination with the fact that the sound is "advancing," and not the humans, creates a supernatural tone. Furthermore, we see this tendency at play in Lewis' use of synecdoche, when she says: "their voices filled the room, echoing from the low beams and the stone walls." Again, the fact that it is the voices and not the people that fill the room emphasizes a lack of humanity in the ordeal. She even goes as far as using the verb "swarming" to describe how they move, conjuring up the image of bees, and creating a grotesque hue that could be read as symptomatic of the deception at play. Lewis choice to delegate action to everyone but the two main participants in this reunion is significant, as we have no access to their interior feelings or thoughts, but find ourselves part of the surrounding chaos, adding tension and ambiguity. In her descriptions of "Martin," she refers to him as a "bearded man dressed in leather and steel," and then "The figure in leather and steel," which strike a discordant note granted the focus on his external appearance and the impersonal descriptor of "figure" heighten his anonymity. Finally, we see the aesthetic contrast of Bertrande "in the sunlight...as in a dream," pitted against "Martin" in the shadows, which to me read as an allusion to the fact that Bertrande's happiness is unreal, self-conjured, and "Martin" belongs to the realm of the shadows, of obscurity, of deception.