Critique of Good Faith and Truthful Ignorance

Alexandra Cook's and Noble Cook's text, Good Faithnative land to come to Peru. The authors indicated his
and Truthful Ignorance, traced the lives of an earlyprimary motivation was to escape from an unwanted
settler of the New World and his two wives. Themarriage, and this seemed very plausible since he
authors' purpose in writing this book was to providestayed away from her for a long time and returned to
modern readers with a "mirror of a segment ofSpain only when he believed she had died. Another
Spanish society in the sixteenth century, the middleexample was why Dona Beatriz waited until after
class and minor nobility" (Cook xii). The authorsNoguerol's death to claim that the marriage was
explored all facets of this society: their values andconsummated; with him not being able to deny it, she
customs, legal structure, their economy, and their homewould had more success at winning the trial. That she
life.The authors wove together the story of this man'swas bitter of being cast aside in favor of Dona
life with other historical background information, legalCatalina was made very explicit by her
procedures, and the social mores of the time soactions.Noguerol also remained bitter towards his
skillfully that the reader did not become bogged downfamily over deceiving him. This bitterness was seen by
in mundane details. The writing was lively andthe fact that he deliberately disinherited his family in his
interesting; it kept the reader in suspense as the courtlast will and testament, preferring to enact a line of
case unfolded. Although the trial for bigamy was thesuccession for his estate in his wife's descendants
main theme of the book, the authors inserted other(Cook 137). The character of Dona Catalina, namely
instances of Spanish laws into the text, such as theher abhorrence of scandal, was exhibited by her
family of a murdered man may make claims againstagreement to settle more money on Dona Beatriz
the estate of the person who murdered him (Cookafter the death of Noguerol (Cook 143).In the examples
2).In unraveling the trial of Francisco Noguerol, theabove and many others, the authors presented an
authors related many aspects of Spanish society, suchamazingly clear picture of Spanish society during the
as the power and control widowed women wereconquest of the Americas. The reader can discern the
allowed to exhibit in this patriarchal society (seenmany ways women were able to circumvent the
through Nougerol's mother and Dona Catalina). TheSpanish law that restricted them in this patriarchal
text also provided examples of the life in Spanishsociety. Spanish emphasis on values such as
convents through Nougerol's sisters. It was veryrespectability was marked in the characters of
interesting that the nuns who lied to Noguerol were notNoguerol, Catalina, and Beatriz. The reader can also
made to accept responsibility for what their actionssee how the custom of arranged marriages can
caused, except by their brother. This shows, I believe,cause unexpected catastrophes among the people
how the Catholic Church tried to protect their religiousforced to participate in them. Through their extensive
orders from scandal.The Spanish court system wasresearch of church rolls, legal documents, and others,
seen to have attempted to protect the rights ofAlexandra Cook and Noble Cook gave us an exciting
women in their society, as seen in the experience ofglimpse of the social history of Spain in a period of
Dona Beatriz and Dona Catalina. For Beatriz, she wascontinuous change caused by the exploration and
protected from being left destitute from her husband'sconquest of the Americas.BibliographyCook, Alexandra
remarriage, and Catalina was protected from losingParma and Noble David Cook. Good Faith and Truthful
the husband that she had made a life and homeIgnorance: A Case of Transatlantic Bigamy. Duke
with.The authors offered to the reader logicalUniversity Press, 1991.Mary Arnold is an author on
motivations for the actions of people during this time.which is a site for Creative Writing.
One example was the reasons why Noguerol left his