Comparing Voltaire's Candide, Paquette And The Old Woman

François-Marie d 'Arouet, better known by his pen name Voltaire, was a French writer and public activist who played a singular role in defining the eighteenth-century movement called the Enlightenment. Voltaire was born in 1694 in France. Voltaire established himself as one of the leading writers of the Enlightenment. His famed works include the tragic play Zaire, the historical study The Age of Louis XIV and the satirical novella Candide. Often at odds with French authorities over his politically charged works, he was twice imprisoned and spent many years in exile. He died shortly after returning to Paris in 1778. His novel Candide or Optimism is a French satire first published in 1759. The title of Candide is principally taken from the name of its

These characters possess very little complexity or importance in Candide. With his characterization of Cunegonde, Paquette, and the Old Woman Voltaire satirizes gender roles and highlights the impotence of women in the 1800s. The portrayal of the women in the literature has always been the favorite subject of the critics especially in the famous piece of literature. Critics through the portrayal of the women in the literature try to understand the position and situation of the people with respect to the era and setting of the literature. Given this perspective, it has been observed that the Enlightenment Era literature has been widely acknowledged as the most studied and understood literature with respect to the portrayal of the characters in the respected setting. The most widely acknowledged Enlightenment Era thinker and writer is Voltaire whose philosophies and values about the life as made him a renowned philosopher writer of the Enlightenment Era. It should be noted that Voltaire beliefs upon the life reflected upon single phrase of the claimed life as unworthy to run