Exploitation of Women in \"Candide\"

Exploitation of Women in "Candide"

Voltaire's "Candide" offers an interesting take on women their role in European society. Undoubtedly, women were exploited in the story and we can be clear Voltaire's intention was to alert us to this exploitation. However, we should also take note these women, under the most dire circumstances found it when themselves to rise above their circumstances and survive. Examining the circumstances of the old woman and Paquette reveal extreme exploitation of women. In addition, there is not a trace of retribution for men in these stories. Lives of slavery, prostitution, and immediate harm emerge as Voltaire attempts to tell a tale about the human condition. The treatment of women cannot be ignored and it goes well with the side dish of satire he serves with it. While it might not appear that Voltaire is supporting women's rights at all in "Candide," we should look at the attention it brings to the subject at hand. Women are exploited and rather than simply allow it happen and go unnoticed for years, Voltaire exposes one of the most corrupt characteristics of man by bringing it to light. Only when the truth of a situation is faced, can a workable solution be administered.

Two female characters in the story that suffer at the exploitation of men are the old woman and Paquette. It is important to realize the narrator's response to these situations because they are telling about the generation for which they represent. Certainly the story is a satire and even when it comes to exploitation of women, the narrator, as well as Candide, are rather blase and nonchalant about such issues. Through them, we can see how Voltaire is attempting to reveal the precarious situations women sometimes found themselves in and their delicate vulnerability. The men in the story behave as animals, satisfying their basal desires, defiling women in the process. As a result, the women cannot maintain the purity men seek in them. In short, the women in this story cannot win. The hypocrisy of men destroys women and the saddest aspect of the story is that these men come from all walks of life, including clergymen and state officials. With their influence from high places, all they can do is perpetuate the problem.

Paquette's situation reveals how she was forced into a life of prostitution. Her situation is agonizing as she says what is was like to be "obliged to caress indiscriminately an old merchant, a lawyer, a monk . . . To be exposed to every insult, every outrage…to be robbed of what you have earned . . . And to have in prospect nothing but old age… you would conclude that I am one of the unhappiest creatures in the world" (81). She is robbed and beaten but must put on a happy face when she is with the monk. Candide sympathizes with her and in doing so, speaks out for the women in this tale. Helena Feder contends that while it may seem "troubling" (Feder), at least from a feminist perspective that Voltaire "chooses male characters…to represent philosophical concepts and an old woman to represent experience… It certainly wouldn't be the first time a woman has been made to bear the weight of the world's, particularly men's, materiality" (Feder). Feder notes that Voltaire does not condone this behavior but rather is "highly sympathetic to the plight of the prostitute Paquette and to the sufferings of Cunegonde and the old woman" (Feder). That the story is real and that we can learn from it becomes an extremely important aspect. Improvement begins with realization.

The old woman reveals one of the most horrific tales in the story. Chapter 11 reveals some of the most heinous treatment of women. The old woman recounts a tale of being taken to Morocco and sold as slaves. On the ship to Morocco, she tells of how she was raped by Prince of Masa Carrara, a "abominable Nergo who yet thought he was doing me much honor" (37). She wraps up her rape story by saying "these things are so common that they are not worth speaking of" (37). Things were not better in Morocco as the Europeans "fought with the fury of the lions, tigers and snakes of the country to see who should have us" (37). All the women were cut and massacred and many were killed. The following chapter includes more mistreatment, including the deceit of the eunuch. Instead of taking her to Italy, he sells her the seraglio. Here we see how money and sex are more powerful than anything. This is the chapter where she looses a buttock because of a lack of food. Women, not men, were expected to make this sacrifice and were told "heaven will be pleased with you for so charitable an action, and you will be rescued" (40). Women are seen for little more than sexual objects and this fact is brought to light in this chapter when we se women of all races, cultures, and ages treated as and valued for sex objects and slaves.