Women vs. Men
Throughout the month of August and the beginning of September, Mrs. Crane-Post assigned her class to read three short stories. These stories come from the Enlightenment period, also known as the Age of Reason, meaning the revolution of intellectual skepticism to traditional beliefs. This era took place during the eighteenth century. Throughout the Enlightenment many books, essay, inventions, scientific discoveries, laws, wars and revolutions went about. Two of those three stories were; Letter to the Women of England by Mary Robinson and Candide, or Optimism by Voltaire. In both stories, one may see a comparison on how roles, education and standards differ among women and men.
First, in these short stories, one may view a contrast
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In the story by Voltaire, he never talked about what kind of education Cunegonde has. As for Candide the audience could see that Pangloss was his mentor. Although his education was not excellent, he was receiving one. In Letter to the Women of England Robinson was very specific with her description of their education. She goes on to say, "He pursues the pleasures or the eccentricities of his imagination, with an acidity insatiable: and he perpetually proves that human passion subjugate him to the limited, whose education, knowledge, and actions are circumscribed by the potent rule of prejudice, she is expected to resist temptation; to be invincible in fortitude; strong in prescient and reflecting powers; subtle in the defence of her own honour; and forbearing under all the conflicts of the passions" (Robinson). This direct quote of her short letter talks about how women are suppose to have an education, yet the range of their education choices is not varies. Unlike those of men who were able to choose whatever study they were interested in. They are expected to be smart, yet it is for themselves, because they can 't share this knowledge with men. Robinson also states, "A little learning is a dangerous thing." Men wanted to maintain being the superior gender, so for a woman to be just a smart or smarter than them would not tolerated by any man at any region. It would …show more content…
Time after time in Candide, the audience sees him traveling the world freely without giving any explanation to anyone. He was free to roam and go where he desired. The same however is not said about Cunegonde. She was always taken by a man. She was the property of someone or enslaved and did have the freedom to just go wherever. In Letter to the Women of England, Robinson says, "He is allowed, even there, to consider the most sacred of ceremonies as merely a political institution, of which he may exclusively avail himself as far as it tends to the promotion of his interest, while neither the publicity, nor the number of his infidelities, attach the badge of worldly censure to his conduct." Here Mary Robinson is speaking about how when a man commits and infidelity even after promising at the alter to not do anything of this sort, he is not punished and usually not thought about terribly. However, if a woman does the exact same thing she is declared infamous. A woman 's pride is taken from her and all interest in her family vanishes. Therefore, unlike a man, a woman is supposed to resist all
He thinks love is all one needs to keep going and that love will always remain the same. Candide even admits to his naivete, though he certainly doesn’t see it as that. “My dear girl,” replied Candide, “when a man’s in love, jealous and flogged by the Inquisition, there’s no knowing what he may do,” (21). Candide think love, no matter what it may cause him to do or what he may face, is a completely worthy cause to continue on his journey. Even the utopia of El Dorado and the riches it hold aren’t comparable to Cunegonde for Candide. “Said Candide to Cacambo: ‘My friend, you see how perishable are the riches of this world. The only sure thing is virtue and the happiness of seeing Miss Cunegonde again’,” (47). Cunegonde, on the other hand, even though she still loves Candide, is able to recognize how leaving that love behind can help her. She doesn’t not maintain her “virtue” to him. She sleeps with other men, because for her as a woman, it keeps her safe. She knows Candide will always try to come for her, but she also knows if he is not successful, she must be
He pushed culture towards science-based reasoning and separation of church and state. With the Age of Enlightenment and Voltaire’s philosophy, Candide is a great story that both entertained the audience of the time and taught them a lesson on what the future of civilization should be. The plotline of this tragedy and love story starts with Candide, an
...ue perspectives on the world. Candide revived a glimpse of the the best possible world, the world as it really is, and the worst possible world. In the end all the philosophies are rejected and they decide that the world is full of good and bad events, “ there is a concatenation of the events in the best of all possible worlds: for if you had not been kicked out of the magnificent castle for love of miss Cunegonde; if you had not been put into the inquisition; if you had not walked over america; if you ad not stabbed the baron; if you had not lost all your sheep from the fine country of el dorado; you would not be here eating preserved citrons and pistachio nuts... but let us cultivate our garden “ (Voltaire, 87). Candide choses to ignore the philosophies and just simply live he came to this deduction after vast travels and experiences he decides to tend his garden.
Throughout Candide the themes of corrupting money and love are present. Candide endures fake friends, gets taken advantage of, and is constantly throwing away his money to dishonest people. Through all of this, he remains on his journey to find Cunégonde because he truly loves her. They all retreat to the garden, which symbolizes a new beginning. They get away from philosophizing too much, and keep themselves busy by cultivating the garden. Throughout life, you have to work for what you want no matter what challenges may come.
The older generation of women in A Woman’s Story have a radically different education from the speaker, this is because of the culture and time period they were born in. As a young girl the grandmother was the top student in her primary school, she had a talent for writing, and was predicted to be a school teacher. However, in the Norman French culture, the word
Victorian fears of educating women were addressed in Martha Vicinus' novel, Independent Women. However I think that one very important issue not discussed in by Vicinus was the joint and separate fears of men and women of educating women. I also think that these fears were not realized entirely in her book and during the Victorian period. In order to determine if their fears were realized we need to look at the individual fears and also apply whose fears they were. I will examine the three view points that I think had the greatest fears and realizations of educating women; men and women together, then men and women's separate fears.
Candide meets a many members of the different religion and sees that they do not practice what they preach. One member he meets is a jewel stealing thief. The text reads, “Who was it that robbed me of my money and jewels?" said Cunegonde, all bathed in tears. ‘"How shall we live? What shall we do? Where find Inquisitors or Jews who will give me more?” “Alas!” said the old woman, "I have a shrewd suspicion of a reverend Grey Friar, who stayed last night in the same inn with us at Badajos. God preserve me from judging rashly, but he came into our room twice, and he set out upon his journey long before us. (23)"’ A friar takes a vow of poverty when he becomes a members of the Franciscan order. Later in Candide’s he meets a Jesuit colonel with marked homosexual tendencies. The Jesuit explains, “You know, my dear Candide, I was very pretty; but I grew much prettier, and the reverend Father Didrie, Superior of that House, conceived the tenderest friendship for me. (37)” He is openly and proudly sharing that he attracts the attention from older men. Candide also meets the Pope’s daughter, a man he should be celibate. The texts shares, “I am the daughter of Pope Urban X, and of the Princess of Palestrina. (25)” All of these people Candide meets show the flaws and corruption in religion and teaches people not to put these people on such high
Voltaire's Candide uses anti-heroism as an object of mockery against the philosophers of the Enlightenment. Candide, the hero of the novel travels around the world where he encounters many difficulties. During his travels, he sticks to the teaching of his tutor, Doctor Pangloss, believing that "everything is for the best" (3). Voltaire points out the illogicality of this doctrine, "if Columbus had not caught, on an American island, this sickness which attacks the source of generation [...] we should have neither chocolate or cochineal" (8). The sheer stupidity of these illogical conclusions points out Voltaire's problem with most optimists: the illogical degree to which they would carry their doctrine. Voltaire would argue that noses were not designed for spectacles, but rather spectacles were designed for preexisting noses. Pangloss's interpretation of cause and effect is so ignorant as to be comical. While Candide tells an interesting story, it is more important as a satire. However, this does not prove Voltaire is a pessimist.
At the beginning of the story, Candide lives in “the most beautiful and agreeable of all possible castles” (17) with baron Thunder-ten-tronckh, the baroness, their son, and their daughter, “Cunegonde, aged seventeen, . . . rosy-cheeked, fresh, plump, and alluring” (15). His tutor there, Pangloss, preaches the philosophy of optimism and that everything happens for a reason. Life at the castle is easy. They have plenty of servants and food all year round, but Candide wasn’t quite happy. Something was missing from his life and that thing was Lady Cunegonde, “for he found Lady Cunegonde extremely beautiful, although he was never bold enough to tell her so” (16). Candide is infatuated with the fair Cunegonde and believes it be one of the world’s greatest fortunes to get to see her every day. However, the object of his affections is removed from his reach when he tries to make a move but is caught by the baron. The bar...
...uide boys and girls through a difficult transition period. During her childhood she loved to have influence upon her younger brother. Her need to influence carried on to her adulthood. Story telling was an essential part of her class. It was her conscious way of helping her students to deal with the confusing and threatening world around them. As a child her imagination was a comfort zone for her. She provided her students with that atmosphere. As a child she dreamed of a different world, on she described as “On that presented opportunities for courage, boldness and self sacrifice (pg 550).” Teaching was an ideal job for the protagonist to attain as it allowed her to remain influential and child like.
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
Cunegonde is the daughter of a wealthy German lord. She is described as “extremely beautiful” (Voltaire. 5) and is repeatedly referred to as “the fair Cunegonde.” (39). She is the typical damsel-in-distress: a woman who is completely reliant on male protection and often fainting at the sight of anything the least bit distressing. She is a vapid beauty and completely obsequious to whomever she happens to belong to at the time. However, Voltaire does not blame her foolish naiveté on her femininity. Candide himself is terribly innocent and is unable to make decisions without the advice of a third party. In a way, Cunegonde accepts her situation in life better than Candide does. She knows that as a woman in the eighteenth century she has few options if she wishes to survive and she is not above using her beauty to her advantage. She never questions or philosophizes like many of the male characters. Her acceptance of the sexual slavery she finds herself in belies an understanding of the limited options women had at the time.
Candide, written by Voltaire and published in 1759, is based in the Age of the Enlightenment. Candide is a satiric tale of a virtuous man's search for the truest form of happiness and his ultimate acceptance of life's disappointments. The illegitimate son of the Baron's sister; Candide is raised in the Castle of Westphalia and taught by his friend and philosopher of metaphysico-theologo-cosmolo-nigology, Dr.Pangloss. Candide is abruptly cast out from the castle when he and Lady Cunegonde are found indiscreetly kissing behind a screen. Broken hearted and emotionally lost by the separation from Lady Cunegonde, his true love; Candide wanders off. After being tricked into servitude with the Bulgar army, Candide discovers that his one and only love Lady Cunegonde is dead and his friend Dr. Pangloss is deathly sick; Candide then decides that all is not lost and that a cure must be found for Pangloss. Tragedy, adventure and a series of horrible events follow Candide as he is forced to overcome misfortune to find true happiness; in the end he determines that all is not well and that he must work in order to find even a small amount of pleasure in life.
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.
Voltaire's Candide captures the extremes of human suffering, providing a disparaging account of what many of us would deem an unbearable cross to carry. While the author's message was not to glorify his characters for their resilience, the reader will clearly feel humbled after learning of the intense suffering that Candide and friends endure. In particular, it is the story of the old woman, who perhaps best explains the spirit of the characters, when she says 'A hundred times I wanted to kill myself, but I always loved life more.' Considering that she has been raped repeatedly and essentially gone from riches to rags, her passion for life should remain unquestioned. Candide also displays this sense of hope in light of his many hardships. He honors his commitment to marry Cunegonde at the end of the story despite the physical abnormalities that have plagued her. Cunegonde, as you may remember, was also raped and taken as a sex slave. In addition, she was a victim of cannibalism and her face has clearly made a turn for the worse. Essentially, her once beautiful physique has undergone a complete transformation.