He acknowledges that his approach has been contested, but he claims not to confuse medieval and contemporary mentalities, admitting, moreover, that "the abysses of the human psyche remain unfathomable and (...) Gilles de Rais has definitely taken his secret to the grave". Furthermore, Claude Gauvard states that "the historian is not (...) a psychoanalyst, even if the teachings of psychoanalysis can help him to understand the content of confessions and their share of psychotic delirium."
The passage discusses a historian's approach to understanding the actions of Gilles de Rais, acknowledging the complexity and potential for psychological interpretation.  Claude Gauvard emphasizes the importance of separating historical analysis from psychoanalytic theory.