Chapter 7, the Trial at Rieux Summary and Analysis

There have been other local cases that are judged at Rieux involving forgery, embezzlement and other fraud, but the Martin Guerre case is unique. A crime of being an impostor for someone involves all these crimes plus adultery with the other man's wife. The crime is seen as serious and ultimately calls for the death penalty. Identity theft is a hard thing to prove. Fingerprints could not be checked and there were no photos of the man. No pictures, paintings or drawings exist of either man. In a population that is ninety-percent illiterate, you can't compare things like handwriting and signatures.

The Judge at Rieux takes seriously the allegation that Bertrande is under pressure from Pierre to testify against "Martin," and arranges for Bertrande to have another place to live, free of Pierre's...