Term Papers on Who Are You?: An Analysis Of Identity In Three Works Of Fiction

Term Paper Title	Who Are You?: An Analysis Of Identity In Three Works Of Fiction
# of Words	2836
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	11.34

"Who Are You?: An Analysis of Identity in Three Works of Fiction"

Gregory Amundson
Comparative Literature
11/24/98

     Identifying a person can be a real dilemma.  Sometimes it is hard to tell who a person really is because of circumstantial events and factors that other people use to identify a person.  Sometimes a person has very little control over how he or she is identified because identity can depend less on whom or what someone is than on the events used to identify that person.  This problem of identity occurs throughout many works of fiction, film and literature alike.  The Return of Martin Guerre, by Natalie Zemon Davis and the ancient Greek tragedy, Oedipus the King, by Sophocles are two examples of literary fiction that deal with the problem of identity, but in somewhat different forms.  Davis' historical novel tells the tale of Martin Guerre and how his identity was stolen by a man called Pansette after Martin had been away from his homeland for many years.  In Oedipus the King, the King of Thebes, Oedipus, is trying to identify the murderer of the city's former King only to find out that it was he who was the King's murderer and the cause for the plague brought upon the ancient city of Thebes. In the film Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott, Decker, part of the Blade Runner squad, is put to task attempting to identify androids (Replicants) that appear in every way human amongst humans.  From these works of fiction we learn that identity can sometimes be established from the interpretation of events and the unfolding of a plot and story.
     Natalie Zemon Davis' novel, The Return of Martin Guerre, deals with the idea of identity and the ways in which a person is identified.  The story is about how a man named Martin Guerre leaves his young wife and family on a whim because he is unhappy in his situation and life in Artigat.  After Martin left, he was never to be heard from again or so those who knew him thought.  His wife stayed faithful to his memory and her own chasteness.  Life went on without Martin.  He wasn't completely forgotten, but his memory was put to the wayside and he was looked upon as a loss to the family and village.  Then one day this all changed with the arrival of a man named Arnaud du-Tihl.  Also known as Pansette, Arnaud will attempt to fill the void left by the sudden departure of Martin Guerre by assuming Martin's former life and calling it his own.  How is it that a complete stranger can steal a man's wife and family and status and everything that go with them by pretending to be that person?  Pansette used his prior knowledge of Martin's life and the knowledge that he gained while living as Martin to solidify his new role in life.  Along with a little luck and a silver tongue Pansette took advantage of the events that occurred around him and the circumstances into which he had arrived.  To understand how Pansette did this,  a little background is required to shed light on the situation prior to the departure of Martin up to the time of Pansette's arrival in Artigat.  Martin's marriage to Bertrande de Rols was basically an arraigned business contract to solidify the wealth and status of two households in the village of Artigat.
     The marriage between Bertrande de Rols and Martin was orchestrated by Martin's uncle, Pierre.  Arraigned marriages were nothing out of the ordinary for this time period in Europe.  However, this became a highly unusual marriage.  Martin was impotent and this caused a serious rift in the marriage and almost  led to its dissolution.  Without consummation of the marriage, the marriage contract could have been nullified.  Martin was abused by fellow villagers and looked upon as a bad husband.  Through all of this Bertrande stuck by Martin even though he was never truly good to her as a husband.  Eventually Martin's impotence (which was blamed on a witch's spell) was cured after various masses and prayers were tried and the marriage was consummated.  The marriage produced two children, only one that survived.  Martin also had problems with his uncle.  Hi...

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