Instructions
Read the background summaries provided for the wife in Marie de France's Bisclavret and Bertrande de Rols, the wife of Martin Guerre. Complete all three parts of the worksheet. Your answers should be thoughtful and detailed, drawing connections between the characters, their historical contexts, and the nature of the stories themselves.
Background Summaries
The Lay of Bisclavret (c. 12th Century): In this Breton lay by Marie de France, a noble baron reveals to his wife that he is a werewolf (a bisclavret). Horrified, she presses him for the secret of how he transforms back into a man, learning that he must have his clothes. She then conspires with another knight to steal the clothes, trapping her husband in his wolf form forever. Years later, the wolf-baron, now a favorite of the king, encounters his former wife and attacks her, biting off her nose. This act of targeted aggression exposes her betrayal, and she is banished, with her female descendants thereafter born without noses.
The Case of Martin Guerre (c. 16th Century): This is a famous historical case from 16th-century France. Martin Guerre left his wife, Bertrande de Rols, and their village for many years. A man named Arnaud du Tilh later arrived, claiming to be the returned Martin. He was so convincing that he lived with Bertrande as her husband for three years, and they had children together. Eventually, suspicions arose, leading to a trial. Bertrande's testimony was crucial and often ambiguous—was she a deceived victim or a willing accomplice in the fraud? The case reached a dramatic climax when the real Martin Guerre, with a wooden leg, returned during the final appeal.
Part 1: Comparative Character Analysis
Consider the motivations, actions, and consequences for both the wife of Bisclavret and Bertrande de Rols. Fill in the categories below to compare and contrast their situations and choices. Think in terms of their agency, fears, social pressures, and the nature of their "betrayal."
Wife of Bisclavret Only:
Shared by Both Women:
Bertrande de Rols (Wife of Martin Guerre) Only:
Part 2: Short Answer Questions
Answer the following questions in 3-5 complete sentences each, using specific evidence from the summaries and your own analysis.
1. How do the concepts of "truth" and "identity" function differently in these two stories? Consider the supernatural transformation in Bisclavret versus the legal impersonation in the Martin Guerre case.
2. Compare the forms of justice enacted in each narrative. How does the justice in Bisclavret, delivered by a king and symbolized by a physical act, reflect the world of folklore and folk law? How does the trial of Arnaud du Tilh reflect the developing formal legal system of early modern France?
3. Both women's actions are judged by a patriarchal society. Discuss the societal pressures each woman faced. Which woman, in your opinion, had more agency (the capacity to act independently and make her own free choices), and why?
Part 3: Critical Inquiry & Argumentation
The story of Martin Guerre is a historical event that reads like a folktale. The story of Bisclavret is a folktale (a lai, or narrative poem) that explores real human fears about loyalty and the "beast within."
Essay Prompt: Which narrative is ultimately more terrifying, and why? The tale of a man who is literally a monster but remains noble in spirit (Bisclavret), or the tale of a man who appears perfectly normal but is a complete fraud (Arnaud du Tilh)? In your response, consider the perspective of the wife in each story and what each narrative suggests about the nature of trust, identity, and betrayal in human relationships.
Answer Key
Part 1: Comparative Character Analysis (Sample Answers)
Wife of Bisclavret Only:
- Acts out of fear and revulsion towards the supernatural.
- Her betrayal is proactive and malicious; she intentionally traps her husband.
- Her punishment is supernatural/symbolic (noselessness) and hereditary.
- Operates within a feudal, aristocratic courtly setting where magic is accepted as real.
Shared by Both Women:
- Their actions place their husband's identity and status into question.
- They are central figures whose testimony/actions lead to a public judgment.
- Their ultimate fate is decided by a male authority figure (a king or a panel of judges).
- They both enter a new relationship/marriage after their original husband is gone.
- Their stories explore themes of marital loyalty and betrayal.
Bertrande de Rols (Wife of Martin Guerre) Only:
- Her motivation is ambiguous: she could be a victim of deception or a willing accomplice.
- She is part of a real, documented historical and legal event in a peasant community.
- She faces pressure related to property, inheritance, and social reputation in a small village.
- Her "betrayal" is passive or complicit, rather than a direct, initial act of aggression.
Part 2: Short Answer Questions (Sample Answers)
1. In Bisclavret, "truth" and "identity" are internal and essential; Bisclavret is a noble man regardless of his monstrous form, and his wife's treachery is his "true" nature revealed. Identity is a matter of inner character that can be masked by an outer shell (man or wolf). In the Martin Guerre case, identity is external and performative, subject to social recognition and legal proof. Arnaud du Tilh almost succeeds in becoming Martin Guerre because he performs the role convincingly enough for the community and law to accept it, demonstrating that identity can be a social construct rather than an inherent truth.
2. The justice in Bisclavret is a form of folk justice, dispensed by a sovereign king. It is swift, symbolic, and based on an intuitive reading of an event (the wolf's targeted attack). The punishment fits the crime symbolically: her vicious betrayal is repaid with a disfiguring bite that marks her as a sinner forever. In contrast, the Martin Guerre case showcases a formal legal system with courts, witnesses, testimony, and appeals. It is a slow, methodical process based on gathering evidence and weighing probabilities, highlighting a societal shift towards institutional, rationalized justice over monarchical or community judgment.
3. The wife of Bisclavret, as an aristocrat, likely faced pressure to produce heirs and maintain her husband's honor, but her actions seem primarily driven by personal fear. Bertrande faced immense pressure in her rural community to run a household and have a husband; an abandoned wife had very low status and economic instability. Arguably, Bisclavret's wife had more agency, as she made a clear, calculated choice to betray her husband for her own benefit and safety. Bertrande's agency is more constrained and ambiguous; her choices were limited by her circumstances as an abandoned woman, and it remains unclear if she chose to accept Arnaud out of loneliness, social pressure, or genuine deception.
Part 3: Critical Inquiry & Argumentation (Sample Points for an Essay)
A strong response would choose one narrative and argue its position using the points below.
Argument for Bisclavret being more terrifying:
- The horror is metaphysical: the person you love most can fundamentally transform into something monstrous and "other."
- It suggests that a primal, animal nature exists just beneath the surface of civilization, which is a deep-seated fear.
- The betrayal is more absolute and personal. His wife does not just leave him; she actively condemns him to a non-human existence out of pure revulsion, showing a terrifying lack of compassion.
- The justice is permanent and physical, a constant, visible reminder of sin, which is a form of psychological terror.
Argument for The Case of Martin Guerre being more terrifying:
- The horror is social and psychological, making it more relatable and plausible. It suggests that our identity is not our own but is granted to us by others.
- It preys on the fear that we can be "erased" and replaced, and that even our most intimate partners might not know—or care about—the difference.
- The ambiguity of Bertrande's role is deeply unsettling. The idea that one's spouse might be a willing accomplice in a total fraud against you is arguably more terrifying than a spouse who simply flees from a monster.
- The threat is from a normal human, highlighting the capacity for deception within humanity itself, without need for the supernatural. This makes every social interaction potentially suspect.