| Alexandra Cook's and Noble Cook's text, Good Faith | | | | native land to come to Peru. The authors indicated his |
| and Truthful Ignorance, traced the lives of an early | | | | primary motivation was to escape from an unwanted |
| settler of the New World and his two wives. The | | | | marriage, and this seemed very plausible since he |
| authors' purpose in writing this book was to provide | | | | stayed away from her for a long time and returned to |
| modern readers with a "mirror of a segment of | | | | Spain only when he believed she had died. Another |
| Spanish society in the sixteenth century, the middle | | | | example was why Dona Beatriz waited until after |
| class and minor nobility" (Cook xii). The authors | | | | Noguerol's death to claim that the marriage was |
| explored all facets of this society: their values and | | | | consummated; with him not being able to deny it, she |
| customs, legal structure, their economy, and their home | | | | would had more success at winning the trial. That she |
| life.The authors wove together the story of this man's | | | | was bitter of being cast aside in favor of Dona |
| life with other historical background information, legal | | | | Catalina was made very explicit by her |
| procedures, and the social mores of the time so | | | | actions.Noguerol also remained bitter towards his |
| skillfully that the reader did not become bogged down | | | | family over deceiving him. This bitterness was seen by |
| in mundane details. The writing was lively and | | | | the fact that he deliberately disinherited his family in his |
| interesting; it kept the reader in suspense as the court | | | | last will and testament, preferring to enact a line of |
| case unfolded. Although the trial for bigamy was the | | | | succession 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 the | | | | her abhorrence of scandal, was exhibited by her |
| family of a murdered man may make claims against | | | | agreement to settle more money on Dona Beatriz |
| the estate of the person who murdered him (Cook | | | | after the death of Noguerol (Cook 143).In the examples |
| 2).In unraveling the trial of Francisco Noguerol, the | | | | above and many others, the authors presented an |
| authors related many aspects of Spanish society, such | | | | amazingly clear picture of Spanish society during the |
| as the power and control widowed women were | | | | conquest of the Americas. The reader can discern the |
| allowed to exhibit in this patriarchal society (seen | | | | many ways women were able to circumvent the |
| through Nougerol's mother and Dona Catalina). The | | | | Spanish law that restricted them in this patriarchal |
| text also provided examples of the life in Spanish | | | | society. Spanish emphasis on values such as |
| convents through Nougerol's sisters. It was very | | | | respectability was marked in the characters of |
| interesting that the nuns who lied to Noguerol were not | | | | Noguerol, Catalina, and Beatriz. The reader can also |
| made to accept responsibility for what their actions | | | | see 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 religious | | | | forced to participate in them. Through their extensive |
| orders from scandal.The Spanish court system was | | | | research of church rolls, legal documents, and others, |
| seen to have attempted to protect the rights of | | | | Alexandra Cook and Noble Cook gave us an exciting |
| women in their society, as seen in the experience of | | | | glimpse of the social history of Spain in a period of |
| Dona Beatriz and Dona Catalina. For Beatriz, she was | | | | continuous change caused by the exploration and |
| protected from being left destitute from her husband's | | | | conquest of the Americas.BibliographyCook, Alexandra |
| remarriage, and Catalina was protected from losing | | | | Parma and Noble David Cook. Good Faith and Truthful |
| the husband that she had made a life and home | | | | Ignorance: A Case of Transatlantic Bigamy. Duke |
| with.The authors offered to the reader logical | | | | University 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 | | | | |