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Candide is a satirical piece written by Voltaire, the great French historian and philosopher during the Age of Enlightenment. There are two contrasting female characters in the literature. Cunegund is the daughter of a baron who experiences unbearable miseries. An unnamed old woman is a servant of Cunegund who was born as a daughter of a Pope. Candide, who is Cunegund’s lover, is also a traveling companion. While Cunegund and the old woman both possess admirable strength, the old woman is pessimistic although realistic, whereas Cunegund is optimistic but impractical.
Cunegund complains continually about her misfortunes, but she never takes action to overcome them. The old woman, by comparison, never wavers or complains, and she acts quickly to solve any problems that occur during their traveling. Cunegund is looking for her jewels and other valuables, which have been stolen during the night. She does not know what to do, nor does she see how she will survive the misfortune. Conversely, the more practical and clear-headed old woman informs Cunegund that she suspects a Franciscan priest who once stayed with them in the same inn. Cunegund consoles herself with the knowledge that all men are equally entitled to some material things on this earth and are entitled to enjoy them. Cunegund resents the fact that the thief has not left any money for the three of them. As Candide and Cunegund deliberate about what can be done, the old woman is quick to suggest selling one of the horses they have brought with them for the journey. The old woman adds that she is willing to sacrifice by riding behind Cunegund instead of having her own ride.
The old woman regards the adventure with Cunegund pessimistically, but Cunegund possesses the hope that...
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...ties were destroyed. After finishing her story, the old woman discovers that she has gained the respect of Cunegund, who was listening attentively.
Cunegund and the old lady have both similar and contrasting traits. Both seem to possess admirable strength—in spite of the tragic incidents that have darkened their lives, they have managed to survive and continue to struggle forward. The old woman is not only strong, but also realistic and practical, enabling her to make quick and alert decisions. Cunegund is the younger of the duo. Possibly due to her lack of experience, she is more prone to giving up. It may be that differing degrees of experience and age discrepancy have accounted for the variance in mental maturity. The old lady’s pessimism has hardened her to accept any calamity; whereas the young woman’s youthful optimism has left her unprepared for adversity.
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 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.
She came from modest nobility and ended up cooking and cleaning for all the men who owned her, completing “menial tasks that a romance heroine would never undertake” (Lynch 42). The status of her virginity demonized her. Romantic heroine’s insides are often reflected on the outside. They are beautiful because of their virtue, so “Cunegonde’s ugliness [suggested] her lack of it.” (Lynch 43). Even though her virginity was forcefully taken, she suffered the consequences of being a loose woman. She was bought and sold into slavery. The skills she learned were tools for survival. Besides using her body, she was able to take care of a home. It was unfortunate because becoming a cook “[seemed] to redeem her ugliness somewhat” (Betts 287). Voltaire was commenting on the limits options for women in the eighteenth century. They could either be a wife or mistress. Cunegonde had to perform both roles with just her optimism to keep her going; ““it seems justifiable to say that her final destiny as the supplier of appetizing food parallels her ability to arouse sexual appetite” (Betts
...cision does not spawn from her relationship with her husband, she cannot yield the independence she has won and return to him. In order to fulfill her quest, she must continue on her search for independence. "The voice of the sea is seductive, never ceasing, whispering, clamoring and murmuring, inviting the soul to wander in the abysses of solitude." She submerges herself in the ocean and in the solitude she has longed for throughout the novel. Only in her death is Leonce completely powerless. She has taken control of her destiny. Edna Pontellier as a literary character is shocking for her time. She achieves true empowerment, a status not often experienced by women in the Victorian Era. She rebels against her husband and the social norms that he represents. True to the time, such a conflict could not resolve in her favor without sorrow, but ultimately Edna triumphs.
...mont’s but is sadly disappointed by her unfortunate state in the end of the novel.
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.
Each chapter of Candide is a part of the story which Voltaire carefully expresses his concerns and criticism of 18th century society. Chapter 11 “The History of the old women” in particular criticises the pre-modern era in regards to religion. The enlightenment period called for freedom of religion from many philosophers ...
Voltaire's Candide is a novel which contains conceptual ideas and at the same time is also exaggerated. Voltaire offers sad themes disguised by jokes and witticism, and the story itself presents a distinctive outlook on life. The crucial contrast in the story deals with irrational ideas as taught to Candide about being optimistic, versus reality as viewed by the rest of the world.
Candide's misfortune begins when he is kicked out of the castle and experiences a series of horrible events. Candide is unable to see anything positive in his ordeals, contrary to Dr. Pangloss' teachings that there is a cause for all effects and that, though we might not understand it, everything is all for the good. Candide's endless trials begin when he is forced into the army simply because he is the right height, five feet five inches. In the army he is subjected to endless drills and humiliations and is almost beaten to death. Candide escapes and, after being degraded by good Christians for being an anti-Christ, meets a diseased beggar who turns out to be Dr. Pangloss. Dr. Pangloss informs him that Bulgarian soldiers attacked the castle of Westfalia and killed Cunegonde - more misery!
...The need is never satisfied for the reader, for Shelley's perception of society after the Enlightenment is a bleak place where human needs are supplanted by the monolithic focus on reason alone. This stands in sharp contrast to the ending of Candide. While the young man is constantly denied the company of his one true love, Cunegonde, throughout the work, in the end he finds her and finds satisfaction in a life near his friends as a farmer. The Enlightenment found optimistic hope in a dark age through the potential of the progress of human society, but to the Romantics, this improved world was less than optimistic if untouched by human elements such as love and imagination.
Before getting into the comparison and contrasting here is a little background information on Candide. Candide is a very interesting character throughout the story and Voltaire uses him to represent his own ideas. In the beginning of the story Candide is a good-hearted boy but he is very naïve. Candide believes in the philosophy of his teacher Pangloss, that all is for the best in this "best of all possible worlds". (Voltaire, pg. 4) Candide bases his whole life off of this philosophy and even thought his life has been nothing but struggles, Candide never strays from this idea. Every time Candide is going through hard times and something good would happened he would refer back to this philosophy and believe it more and more every time something good happened. Candide is also very attracted to Cunegonde. Cunegonde is the Baron’s daughter and is very beautiful. Candide has always wanted to marry her but it has not happened because he is way below her rank. Candide eventually gets thrown out of his town for sneaking around with Cunegonde. This doesn’...
Voltaire’s Candide is a satirical novel that addresses common issues in society through a series of outrageous events. Voltaire, the author, wrote about Candide who is extremely naïve and views the world from an optimistic point of view despite the constant troubles him and the people around him encounter. Voltaire points out specific struggles of society including views on philosophy, religion, social power, love, etc. He uses the outrageous events to awaken laughter in the audience but also spark thought on the issues we face in life every day. For example, Candide is stuck on the philosophical standpoint that everything in life happens for a reason and for the overall good. In chapter 16 of the novel, Candide assumes two naked women were being attacked by monkeys, so he proceeds to kill them in hope of saving the women. However, Candide was not aware that the monkeys were actually the girls’ lovers. “Master,” replied the knowing valet, “you have
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.
The heroine, Mrs. P, has some carries some characteristics parallel to Louise Mallard in “Hour.” The women of her time are limited by cultural convention. Yet, Mrs. P, (like Louise) begins to experience a new freedom of imagination, a zest for life , in the immediate absence of her husband. She realizes, through interior monologues, that she has been held back, that her station in life cannot and will not afford her the kind of freedom to explore freely and openly the emotions that are as much a part of her as they are not a part of Leonce. Here is a primary irony.
"Given or lent?” asks T. S. Eliot in his poem “Marina,” as he examines the construction of one’s own life from the point of view of a speaker who, reaching the later years of life, feels an urge to “resign” tattered, old life for “the hope, the new ships.” J. M. Coetzee grapples with some similar issues with his character Elizabeth Curren in the novel Age of Iron. Curren throughout the course of the novel goes through a process of realizing and accepting the fact that her comfortable life as a retired white professor in apartheid South Africa has truly been built on the foundation of a deplorable social system, as well as that she is not completely innocent in her complacency with that system. As Eliot understands that he has “Made this [life] unknowing, half-conscious, unknowing, my own,” Curren awakens as she disintegrates towards death to the reality of the conditions in South Africa and her own failures in life. However, whereas Eliot sees some salvation or rebirth, even if perhaps unreachable, in the youth of “the new ships,” Curren sees only a worrisome coldness and lack of innocence in the youth around her and feels nostalgia for earlier times. During the last days of her life, she dwells on the need for a softening in people that has been overcome by an iron-like attitude in the current climate, but she herself is swept into the very state that she denounces in many ways. She internalizes the softer side of herself, becoming more and more introspective and self-absorbed as the days move on, while displaying a harder shell to the outside world. Her inability to cast off her ways of thinking and acting within South African society despite her growing awareness of their pro...