Customer Reviews

The Wife Of Martin Guerre

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One of our finest modern short novels, Lewis's "Wife" is a mostly unrecognized classic. Noted by many top authors for her incisive, spare, sparkling style, Lewis tackles some of the greatest moral and spiritual issues of mankind in this little piece. The prose is impeccable (you could learn how to write by imitating it), the story haunting, and the "message" deeply profound, moving, as well as important to the modern age. At heart, this novel is about the decision of a young woman of petty nobility in 16th century Languedoc to deny her happiness in behalf of her moral and spiritual convictions. It presents a seemingly small dilemma that will bother you and keep you thinking about the meaning of life and the foundations of your convictions for years to come. I won't say more, because there is a touch of the mystery novel in this work. Lewis is a minor master of prose fiction, probably mostly ignored because she was the wife of the great and highly controversial poet and critic Yvor Winters, who is one splendid writer himself. Her other novels are just as fine, with "The Trial of Soren Qvist" probably being one of the greatest modern novels. Evan O'Connell and Larry McMurtry are two of Lewis's chief admirers, by the way, though that might not say much depending on your view of those fellows.

Janet Lewis has written a fine modern novella. This is a haunting story and its message is deeply profound and moving, as well as important to our modern age. Bertrande as the `Wife' is a classic representation of the dominated female in a patriarchal society. Lewis tackles some of the greatest moral and spiritual issues of mankind in this little piece.

The novella explores the theme of Truth vs. Expediency (doing what's convenient) and tells the true story of a young woman's struggle in 16th century France, to deny her happiness in behalf of her moral and spiritual convictions, or to deny the truth. It presents a controversial dilemma that will bother the reader and yet keep us thinking about the meaning of life and the foundations of our convictions long after we have finished reading it.

"Madame, I would have you still deceived"...

I studied this text for my year 12 and I wish it were more widely recognised.

I discovered this book in the 60's, as an out-of-print original, and remember it vividly, it being one of those stories that has an impact on your moral and ethical development. The heart-tugging crux of the tale is one woman's battle between the ethics of the time (which she embraced) and personal happiness. When these two conflicted, she chose the prevailing "moral" attitude that set in motion the events leading to the vivid ending.
I was young when I first read it, and admired the heroine greatly for her largeness of conscience, and felt sharply the sting of her husband's cruel unforgiveness, even in the face of her doing the "right thing". I wanted to be like her, following my convictions even in the face of public censure. But I look at it differently now.
While I still feel the husband showed a hardness of heart cruel even for the day in applying the letter of the law towards his wife, I now feel the wife too sacrificed the imposter she loved to that same moral/ethical law. She hoped to be saved by the system of moral expungement of the time, but was instead destroyed by it. Of course, when the karmic balance is made, hers was the higher moral ground, as she wished to be saved by the moral codes of the day, while the husband merely used them.
What is valuable about this story is that it is able to hook you so well you emotionally participate in the agonizing choices and ending, so you actually feel the repercussions of those choices, and are able to learn the lessons from this little tale. The fact it is based on truth gave it an extra potency. It really is a story that resonates within you for a long time. You are forced to consider what you would do in the same situation, and what for you is the purest "right" thing to do.
I would recommend this for anyone, and is a good introduction for younger people to the power, consequences and higher consciousness of moral/ethical convictions. Plus, it's very easy to read.

This is an easy read, but one that will stay with a reader long after the final page. What struck me upon finishing it is how it really forces one to examine identity in fiction. For instance, the work throughout largely explores how Martin Guerre's wife struggles to identify (and identify with) her husband. She is clearly drawn to be the center of the story. However, towards the end of the book, there is a shift and one realizes that, while she may be the center, she also has to react to others and their equally important decisions about self.

I read this book for my English class. It was interesting and I love it. I could not put it down until I finished it.(^_^)

With her very short novel, Lewis offers a model of economical storytelling.

This true tale is famous enough. In the sixteenth century, Martin Guerre leaves the family farm in southern France escaping his father's wrath and perhaps seeking adventure. Years later, a man claiming to be Martin returns. He is changed but convinces the abandoned wife and family that he is truly Martin. After three years, he is accused of imposture and convicted. Just as his conviction is about to be overturned on appeal, the real Martin dramatically reappears, the impostor's guilt is confirmed, leading to his execution.

Lewis adapts many of the facts. For one thing, she underplays the role of Pierre, Martin's uncle, in the accusation and she presents Bertrande, Martin's wife, as the chief accuser. Lewis never mentions Bertrande's mother, who in real life was married to Martin's uncle Pierre, and who played a large part in the actual events. But this is a novel, not a historical essay. In the end, we see more sharply into human nature than we would were the novel more accurate.

Lewis demonstrates her artistry in the resolution, when the last shred of doubt is lifted from Bertrande's heart. Martin's father is a just but stern and autocratic man. Early in the book, his authority causes him to strike Martin and break two teeth; the event later comes up as evidence supporting the impostor's claim since he has the same two teeth broken. The same stern and pitiless authority causes Martin to leave the farm as he fears his father's anger for taking some seed without permission. Finally when Martin reappears at the end of the appeal, he refuses to forgive Bertrande claiming that she should have known the impostor from the start. He shows her the same pitiless character his father showed him.

Brilliantly, with one single trait (lack of pity) Lewis establishes two plot devices (the identifying teeth and the reason for leaving) she defines two supporting characters (the father and the son) and she develops the main character (Bertrande) when she realizes she has lost the love of her real husband. A lesser writer would simply have explained it all in so many words, as I just did.

Vincent Poirier, Tokyo

I have read this book and although it was very accurate and well written, it was not the sort of book that I was not able to put down. I would recommend this book to anyone who is fascinated by minute detail.

I read this book for my English class. It was interesting and I love it. I could not put it down until I finished it.(^_^)

I have read this book and although it was very accurate and well written, it was not the sort of book that I was not able to put down. I would recommend this book to anyone who is fascinated by minute detail.