Failure to Conceive
The failure of Martin Guerre and his new bride to conceive a child becomes a symbol of the overall metaphor at play in the book about the nature of identity. An heir created a legal legacy for transfer of ownership to property for the husband and thus represents a gap in Martin’s identity issue even before his disappearance and “return.” Meanwhile, the lack of Bertrande to become pregnant would have stirred suspicion at the time of the true nature of her relationship to Martin, intensifying suspicion that she was an active participant in the deception of the imposter.
The Wooden Leg
Likewise is the real Martin’s wooden leg a symbol of identity. In this case, it underlines the entire ironic structure of trying to determine legal identity in a historical age lacking not just the benefits of blood testing (much less DNA testing) but even something as prosaic to the modern world as family photos. The fact that “smoking gun” proving who is the real Martin is artificial and not even a part of his own body highlights the almost insane pursuit of proving identity over the course of the bulk of human history.
Arrest Memorable
The text written by Jean de Cora about the Guerre case titled Arrest Memorable is situated by the author as a revolutionary document in the evolution of the literary record of criminal justice standing in opposition to the earlier published Admiranda historia. Written in French rather than Latin made it accessible and understandable to a larger segment of the reading public though it must be noted that at the time the overwhelming bulk of the populace was illiterate. Nevertheless, the text is essential to understanding the case and as such becomes a symbol for literary revolution that traces a direct line to this book itself.
Carnival Masks
Very short-term disguises in the form of carnival masks were popular at the time. These become a symbolic representation of an inherent desire in seemingly everyone at one time or another to shed off their own actual identity and seek comfort, excitement or some other emotional outlet in the adoption of a deceptive façade.
The Story of Martin Guerre
The strange, incredible and persistently fascinating story of Martin Guerre is presented at the book’s conclusion as a symbol in and of itself. It is, simply put, one of the most iconic examples of the proverbial assumption that truth is stranger than fiction. If one were to make up this story from their own imagination, there are many factual elements associated with it that would have to be jettisoned as simply too coincidental, convenient, or just plain unlikely. The suspension of disbelief required to buy the story is so great that it probably really required that “based on a true story” preface in order for readers or viewers to reject its recurring episodes of implausibility.
