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Experiences of Men vs. Women
The experiences that we face in life vary from person to person and one of the greatest differences occur between men and women. In Voltaire 's novel Candide a great deal of the experiences that each of the characters face is unique to them, but the experiences of the women differ greatly to those of the men. The way the two sexes handled those experiences also varied and reflected a satirical view of the times in which Voltaire lived. The differences in events between the men and women can be seen in a few key points that are seen throughout the Novel.
When we look at the experiences of the men one can start to notice some key points of notice that are pointed out. One of these experiences is that the men were
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The women had to experience being raped while they were still virgins which must have been a horrible moment in their lives. It was made worse by the fact that it happened multiple times in the case of the old woman. Cunegonde’s response was to scream, struggle, bite, claw and try to scratch the Bulgar soldier’s eyes out(Voltaire, 31). Cunegonde tried to resist being raped but was overpowered and stabbed which is what would be expected in that kind of a situation. From the way She retold the events to Candide one can see how strong she is in being able to move past it, then again she didn’t have much time to dwell on it as events around her forced her to move on from it. The old woman wasn’t too descriptive on what occurred when she was raped but she did say that “The Princess of Palestrina and I certainly needed all our strength to withstand everything we underwent...(Voltaire 40)” From this we can assume that the women were raped many times over the course of the trip. from what we read after that however, one can tell it must have required a great deal of strength to continue on even though there were times she thought of committing suicide. The women were strong and had a good ability to adapt to the situations they found themselves in a little better than the
The author, Voltaire, wrote in the Enlightenment period, a literary movement characterized by the rising concern of philosophy, science, and politics. Voltaire’s writing was influenced by the Enlightenment movement to create awareness of global issues. This is evident in the repeated tragedies Candide stumbles upon. Social issues, corrupt authority figures, and war are real world topics that Voltaire chooses to address in Candide. The satirical nature of Candide allows for an in-depth discussion between the characters regarding the problems they face and the problems of the people they meet, creating a perspective that the audience is forced to look through. It is also a coming of age story, not just for Candide, but for the rising awareness in global issues. Voltaire’s inclusion of the issues of his time reflect the severity of those issues. Satire is used as a reaction to a society’s hypocrisy. Candide as a satirical piece reflects what people have neglected to pay attention to. Coming into a new era of awareness and responsibility leads Candide to reflect on the live he lived in Westphalia and the people he encountered across
The Enlightenment is known as the revolution that brought to question the traditional political and social structures. This included the question of the woman’s traditional roles in society. As the public sphere relied more and more ?? and the advances in scientific and educated thinking, women sought to join in with the ranks of their male counterparts. Women held gatherings known as salons where they organized intellectual conversations with their distinguished male guests. Seeking to further their status, enlightened women published pamphlets and other works advocating for educational rights and political recognition. Even with this evolution of woman in society, many still clung to the belief that the role of the woman was solely domestic. The females that spoke up were usually deemed unnatural. However these women used the time period of reason and science that allowed them the opportunity to break away from their domestic roles and alter the view of women in society.
In the book “The Things They Carried” four female characters played an important role in the lives of the men. Whether imaginary or not, they showed the power that women could have over men. Though it's unknown if the stories of these women are true or not, they still make an impact on the lives of the soldiers and the main narrator.
Throughout Candide the author, Voltaire, demonstrates the character’s experiences in a cruel world and his fight to gain happiness. In the beginning Candide expects to achieve happiness without working for his goal and only taking the easy way out of all situations. However, by the end of the book the character
Voltaire had a very opposite point of view in that he saw a world of needless pain and suffering all around him. Voltaire, a deist, believed that God created the world, yet he felt that the people were living in a situation that was anything but perfect. Thus, the major theme of Candide is one of the world not being the best of all possibilities, full of actions definitely not determined by reason or order, but by chance and coincidence.
However, misery engulfed her life. Her fiancé was murdered forcing her to leave the country where she was sold into slave. Along the way she was raped by multiple men and witnessed the gruesome death of her mother. It is no coincidence Voltaire chooses to include the story of the old woman in Candide.
Of course, because it is a satire, Candide continues to have a badly founded and overly optimistic view on the world, even though there are piles of evidence that would point to the contrary. Candide’s complete inability to form his own philosophies and views without adopting others’ is an element of the text because again, it is a satire, but also to highlight the absurdity of thinking that everything happens in order to maintain balance and keep things for the best. Candide’s naivety and almost painfully deliberate simplemindedness is used to represent mankind. At the time this was written, many people displayed similar much less exaggerated traits. By highlighting the complete absurdity of this way of thinking through Candide’s childlike repetition of other characters’ values and ideas, Voltaire illustrated that everything is not for the best in this not best of all possible worlds. He stated that one cannot simply float through life expecting good things to happen to him, not making any decisions for himself and relying on others for his ideas. It is crucial that we work for our happiness in life, that we cultivate our
Candide may have started as an innocent boy that believed the world to be perfect, but he soon adapts his beliefs and opinions to the world around him as he realizes that there is nothing perfect of the world he lives in. This is just how people start their lives in the world and learn to adapt to their surroundings as they experience life. Therefore, Candide can be seen as an interpretation of the life of people by Voltaire in his novel Candide. That is because just like Candide, people adapt to the world through life experiences and may do good and bad things.
And even though Candide is the main character, Voltaire uses more than him to show the faults of human beings by using Lady Cunegonde and other people to visualize the chaos of lust. Throughout the entire story, lust raises its disgusting head again and again, driven by man’s desire for woman. Lady Cunegonde is a symbol of beauty within this book who by the end, becomes ruined and twisted by man’s flaws. A “six-foot Bulgar” (Voltaire 34) rapes her, she is sought after by “the Inquisitor, who loves [her] dearly” (Voltaire 35) and “Don Issachar” (Voltaire 34). These men all see her as an object to appease their lust. Voltaire use of these scenes, especially Lady Cunegonde’s, show the lust of man and how it damages the people that come into contact with it. Unfortunately, lust brought about another trouble to the world, syphilis. Voltaire mentions this downfall to expand upon the point that lust is a terrible flaw of Humanity that causes suffering where ever it is. This suffering is shown in Pangloss, who gets the disease from the maid and “[loses] only an eye and an ear” (Voltaire 27). If Pangloss had not lusted after a woman, he would not have ended up another victim to syphilis, one of lust’s many hard consequences. Even Lady Cunegonde’s old maid is treated like an item and ruined by the lust of man. She was the “daughter of Pope Urban X and the Princess of Palestrina” (Voltaire 42), the most beautiful
... Conclusion, all of the previously discussed topics were put together by Voltaire in an ingenious way to ridicule the philosophy that everything is exactly as it should be and that everything bad happens for the greater good. All the tragedies Candide underwent were introduced in the novella with the purpose of disproving this notion. The book Candide made me think a lot about everything that is wrong with humankind. Voltaire was very successful and Candide's story accomplished his goal because It is hard to imagine that someone would still believe this philosophy after reading this very ingenious, funny, and entertaining novella.
For instance, in Candide it states, “A lady of honor may be raped once, but it strengthens her virtue”(32). Cunegonde has been raped and sold multiple times, but it seems like she’s still positive in her life. Women in our time period would have panicked and would have felt ashamed that they were raped, but Cunegonde wasn’t. Cunegonde describes her struggle as if it was a dramatic struggle in trying to resist the Bulgar soldiers, but she doesn’t think of it as an unusual thing to happen. Voltaire tries to tell us that women at that time period were vulnerable. Because of that, Cunegonde is blinded by the real situation of women. In Cunegonde's life she has only experienced rape and being sold so, it’s highly unlikely that her perspective of women being raped will change. Women probably felt offended because Cunegonde is basically saying how it’s better to be raped more than once in order for you to be virtuous. Besides women, some men probably felt responsible for how women were treated and all of this happened was due to men feeling superior to women. Voltaire uses the idea of rape being virtuous, so more people are aware of how serious rape is. Women being raped multiple times makes you think that women are blinded by how they are treated instead of actually realizing what the real problem is. Without a
One of the main female characters of this story is Cunégonde, the love interest of Candide, whose life did a complete 180 turn around. When we first find Cunégonde we see that she lives a lavish life with her family. We see her life turn around when her house is burned down, and her family murdered. Cunégonde herself is raped and sold to a man known as Don Issachar. She is then forced to be shared with another man known as The Grand Inquisitor. Although Cunégonde is a victim in the beginning, she retains her strong character, and after Candide slays the two men, she quickly seizes the opportunity to leaves with Candide and the old woman. If she were a victim,she would quickly falter, unsure of how to act or move because of
Candide is well known for its critique of optimism by Voltaire. The title character, along with his companions, bears many hardships throughout the novel and philosophizes about the nature and necessity of good in the world. Whether there is truly any good in the world is debated between the characters, particularly between the very discouraged Martin and Candide, who carries with him the optimistic words of Dr. Pangloss, a believer in the good nature of the world. While the characters debate why man must carry such burdens, Voltaire shows us that it is dealing with the bad that makes us human. While discussing Cunegonde Martin says to Candide, "I wish" that she may one day make you happy. But I very much doubt she will. ‘You are a bit hard,’ said Candide. ‘That’s because I’ve lived,’ said Martin.
Shanley, Mary L., and Peter G. Stillman. "The Eldorado Episode in Voltaire's Candide." Eighteenth Century Life 6.2-3 (Jan.-May 1981): 79-92. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism 112. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Literature Resource Center
Voltaire's Candide is a philosophical tale of one man's search for true happiness and his ultimate acceptance of life's disappointments. Candide grows up in the Castle of Westfalia and is taught by the learned philosopher Dr. Pangloss. Candide is abruptly exiled from the castle when found kissing the Baron's daughter, Cunegonde. Devastated by the separation from Cunegonde, his true love, Candide sets out to different places in the hope of finding her and achieving total happiness. The message of Candide is that one must strive to overcome adversity and not passively accept problems in the belief that all is for the best.