Treatment of Women In Voltaire's Period
Contrasting the modern day women to the women in Voltaire’s period, we can look into the past and the present and see how women’s roles have changed. Women tried to overcome the notion that they are more than just sex objects, alive just to satisfy a mans neeRAB and desires. There were unjust attitudes, such as the subordinate role of women at that time. In this paper I’m going to show that in the eighteenth century Europe, women were no more than objects of desire to satisfy a mans passions and desires. Women had no social or institutional power over anything. As a result, women did not have this kind of power, they were treated badly, raped and used as sex objects.
The way the men treated the women in Voltaire’s period was so deplorable that women could not do anything that they wanted to do. Their level of education was poor. Despite the fact that the Baron had tutors, in the sciences and philosophies, the women in the household were not entitled to any sort of training or education by the philosopher Pangloss. They were not formally taught and if they wanted to learn things, they would have to go to private tutoring without the knowledge of the Baron. Women didn’t know anything about money or about the sciences. Cunègonde, was so fascinated by the sciences that she would hide in the bushes to listen to Pangloss teach a private lesson to her mother’s maid.
The Baroness’s who were wealthy, were viewed primarily as hostesses. The reason why the Baroness’s were liked so much was because their husbanRAB had beautifully decorated castles. This was the case for the Baroness of Thunder-ten-tronckh. “ The Baron was one of the most powerful lorRAB in Westphalia because his castle had a gate and window” (pg. 41). His castle and everything in it and outside was perfect. “ The Baroness, who weighed around three hundred and fifty pounRAB, was widely admired for that reason and bestowed favors on visitors with a discretion that made her more eminent” (pg. 42). The only reason why people associated with her was because people wanted favors from her.
Women like the Baroness’s daughter, Cunègonde was never heard. She had no say in anything that she did. She did what she was supposed to do and that was to be the prettiest daughter of the Baron and the Baroness. If she ever got married, her parents would have picked a suitor for her and if she did not love him, she would learn to. She could not do anything about it because her opinion was never considered when making decisions, even if those decisions involved her.
Women did not have any rights whatsoever. They did not own any property because the ownership of the property was transferred to the men. Even though they had no property, women did not have any idea of any rights that they may have.
The women of Voltaire’s time were often abused, raped, sold to slavery, used as mistresses and were used as a food source. Cunègonde was a pretty girl. “ She had rosy cheeks, she was plump and appetizing” (pg. 42). She knew how to win a man’s heart especially Candide. Unfortunately Candide's first and last kiss led him to be kicked out of the castle and he would never see his Cunègonde for years to come.
One night in the castle where Cunègonde lived the Bulgars, Prussian soldiers, mounted a surprise attack and killed her whole family. “A large Bulgar, well over six feet tall, seeing that I fainted at this spectacle, began to rape me” (pg. 55). Men saw Cunègonde as a sex object and only as a sex object. No one cared about her except for Candide and the old woman, who watched over Cunègonde.
Cunègonde had this beauty that no man could resist and therefore she had many lovers. After she was raped the captain of the Bulgars wanted her, but after awhile he lost interest in her. She was sold to a merchant Jew named Don Issacher, who she resisted. While with the Jew, the Grand Inquisitor took an interest in Cunègonde. The Grand Inquisitor took an interest in Cunègonde. The Grand Inquisitor tried to buy her from the Jew, but she refused. They both made a deal where they would share her like she was a piece of meat. Don Issacher would get her Mondays, Wednesdays and on the Sabbath. The Grand Inquisitor would get her the other days, but neither the Jew nor the Grand Inquisitor could decide about the weekend.
The old woman went through the same ordeals as Cunègonde only worse. The old woman was engaged to a prince, whom she was saving her virginity for. She never got married to him because his ex-lover poisoned him. After that incident, her castle was invaded and she was sent off to a camp. She was raped several times by a Negro Captain, who thought he was doing her a favor and saw her mother chopped up into little pieces. A very nice man rescued her and nourished her until she was healthy. The nice gentleman was no better than the other “he brought her to Algiers and was sold to the Dey of that province” (pg. 64). Even he used her like property. She was sold from merchant to merchant like a used toy that no one wanted. One of her buttocks was cut off and eaten by the Janissaries, who were so famished that they had to eat the women. “She was transported to Moscow, where she fell to the lot of a Boyer, who made me his gardener and gave me twenty lashes per day” (pg. 65). She escaped and finally became a servant to a Jew.
The relationship between a man and women is very strong when it comes down to love. The relationship between the beautiful Cunègonde and Candide went through many obstacles however they managed to be together in the end. Even though Cunègonde was in love with Candide, she could not be with him. She could not be with Candide because her brother would not hear of it. She had seventy-two generations of nobility and he had nothing to give her. So she would marry or be with Kings or Inquisitors in order to get money and be used by them. In the end she was ugly and had no spirit left, but the only person that really loved her was Candide.
In modern day society, women are very well educated and have improved in many areas. Being educated they learned that they can succeed in the working force and use laws that protect them from being discriminated against in any situation. Nonetheless in some householRAB women are treated with no respect. They are sometimes told what to do. The only difference today is that women have their own opinions and can speak their minRAB. Women can be independent and they do not need men to support them.
There are many different types of abuse. There is physical, verbal and mental abuse. Physical abuse results in beating a woman or raping her. Being insulted or having negative comments made to women by men, verbally abuses them. Women get mentally abused with the fact that men can intimidate them, make threats towarRAB them and stalk them. This still happens in the world today and the only way women can stand up to a man is by filing for divorce, calling the police or putting a restraining order against the man.
In my experience, the women that I have known or have seen have been treated unfairly. They are still used as sex objects and mistresses. Men take advantage of women to satisfy their sexual neeRAB. I know that if women wanted to fight back they could because over the years they have grew wiser and smarter. Women now have the power to do anything they want to when they put their minRAB to it.
In conclusion, “Cunègonde syrabolizes the vulnerability of women to exploitation and violence. However it is unclear whether she loves Candide or not. It is possible that she merely uses her manipulate men. Voltaire is highlighting the efforts of manipulative women. Perhaps he means to demonstrate the impossible conditions women face. During this period of time, sexuality was the prime means of power for women. When she is no longer beautiful, she holRAB Candide to his promise to marry her. Perhaps she finally marries him because she can no longer use her sex appeal to manipulate men. It is possible that she chooses to manipulate Candide’s honorable nature to save herself from a life of poverty and misery” (I). Women have improved their ability to succeed in life and realized that they are not just sex objects, but people who have the same rights as men.
Contrasting the modern day women to the women in Voltaire’s period, we can look into the past and the present and see how women’s roles have changed. Women tried to overcome the notion that they are more than just sex objects, alive just to satisfy a mans neeRAB and desires. There were unjust attitudes, such as the subordinate role of women at that time. In this paper I’m going to show that in the eighteenth century Europe, women were no more than objects of desire to satisfy a mans passions and desires. Women had no social or institutional power over anything. As a result, women did not have this kind of power, they were treated badly, raped and used as sex objects.
The way the men treated the women in Voltaire’s period was so deplorable that women could not do anything that they wanted to do. Their level of education was poor. Despite the fact that the Baron had tutors, in the sciences and philosophies, the women in the household were not entitled to any sort of training or education by the philosopher Pangloss. They were not formally taught and if they wanted to learn things, they would have to go to private tutoring without the knowledge of the Baron. Women didn’t know anything about money or about the sciences. Cunègonde, was so fascinated by the sciences that she would hide in the bushes to listen to Pangloss teach a private lesson to her mother’s maid.
The Baroness’s who were wealthy, were viewed primarily as hostesses. The reason why the Baroness’s were liked so much was because their husbanRAB had beautifully decorated castles. This was the case for the Baroness of Thunder-ten-tronckh. “ The Baron was one of the most powerful lorRAB in Westphalia because his castle had a gate and window” (pg. 41). His castle and everything in it and outside was perfect. “ The Baroness, who weighed around three hundred and fifty pounRAB, was widely admired for that reason and bestowed favors on visitors with a discretion that made her more eminent” (pg. 42). The only reason why people associated with her was because people wanted favors from her.
Women like the Baroness’s daughter, Cunègonde was never heard. She had no say in anything that she did. She did what she was supposed to do and that was to be the prettiest daughter of the Baron and the Baroness. If she ever got married, her parents would have picked a suitor for her and if she did not love him, she would learn to. She could not do anything about it because her opinion was never considered when making decisions, even if those decisions involved her.
Women did not have any rights whatsoever. They did not own any property because the ownership of the property was transferred to the men. Even though they had no property, women did not have any idea of any rights that they may have.
The women of Voltaire’s time were often abused, raped, sold to slavery, used as mistresses and were used as a food source. Cunègonde was a pretty girl. “ She had rosy cheeks, she was plump and appetizing” (pg. 42). She knew how to win a man’s heart especially Candide. Unfortunately Candide's first and last kiss led him to be kicked out of the castle and he would never see his Cunègonde for years to come.
One night in the castle where Cunègonde lived the Bulgars, Prussian soldiers, mounted a surprise attack and killed her whole family. “A large Bulgar, well over six feet tall, seeing that I fainted at this spectacle, began to rape me” (pg. 55). Men saw Cunègonde as a sex object and only as a sex object. No one cared about her except for Candide and the old woman, who watched over Cunègonde.
Cunègonde had this beauty that no man could resist and therefore she had many lovers. After she was raped the captain of the Bulgars wanted her, but after awhile he lost interest in her. She was sold to a merchant Jew named Don Issacher, who she resisted. While with the Jew, the Grand Inquisitor took an interest in Cunègonde. The Grand Inquisitor took an interest in Cunègonde. The Grand Inquisitor tried to buy her from the Jew, but she refused. They both made a deal where they would share her like she was a piece of meat. Don Issacher would get her Mondays, Wednesdays and on the Sabbath. The Grand Inquisitor would get her the other days, but neither the Jew nor the Grand Inquisitor could decide about the weekend.
The old woman went through the same ordeals as Cunègonde only worse. The old woman was engaged to a prince, whom she was saving her virginity for. She never got married to him because his ex-lover poisoned him. After that incident, her castle was invaded and she was sent off to a camp. She was raped several times by a Negro Captain, who thought he was doing her a favor and saw her mother chopped up into little pieces. A very nice man rescued her and nourished her until she was healthy. The nice gentleman was no better than the other “he brought her to Algiers and was sold to the Dey of that province” (pg. 64). Even he used her like property. She was sold from merchant to merchant like a used toy that no one wanted. One of her buttocks was cut off and eaten by the Janissaries, who were so famished that they had to eat the women. “She was transported to Moscow, where she fell to the lot of a Boyer, who made me his gardener and gave me twenty lashes per day” (pg. 65). She escaped and finally became a servant to a Jew.
The relationship between a man and women is very strong when it comes down to love. The relationship between the beautiful Cunègonde and Candide went through many obstacles however they managed to be together in the end. Even though Cunègonde was in love with Candide, she could not be with him. She could not be with Candide because her brother would not hear of it. She had seventy-two generations of nobility and he had nothing to give her. So she would marry or be with Kings or Inquisitors in order to get money and be used by them. In the end she was ugly and had no spirit left, but the only person that really loved her was Candide.
In modern day society, women are very well educated and have improved in many areas. Being educated they learned that they can succeed in the working force and use laws that protect them from being discriminated against in any situation. Nonetheless in some householRAB women are treated with no respect. They are sometimes told what to do. The only difference today is that women have their own opinions and can speak their minRAB. Women can be independent and they do not need men to support them.
There are many different types of abuse. There is physical, verbal and mental abuse. Physical abuse results in beating a woman or raping her. Being insulted or having negative comments made to women by men, verbally abuses them. Women get mentally abused with the fact that men can intimidate them, make threats towarRAB them and stalk them. This still happens in the world today and the only way women can stand up to a man is by filing for divorce, calling the police or putting a restraining order against the man.
In my experience, the women that I have known or have seen have been treated unfairly. They are still used as sex objects and mistresses. Men take advantage of women to satisfy their sexual neeRAB. I know that if women wanted to fight back they could because over the years they have grew wiser and smarter. Women now have the power to do anything they want to when they put their minRAB to it.
In conclusion, “Cunègonde syrabolizes the vulnerability of women to exploitation and violence. However it is unclear whether she loves Candide or not. It is possible that she merely uses her manipulate men. Voltaire is highlighting the efforts of manipulative women. Perhaps he means to demonstrate the impossible conditions women face. During this period of time, sexuality was the prime means of power for women. When she is no longer beautiful, she holRAB Candide to his promise to marry her. Perhaps she finally marries him because she can no longer use her sex appeal to manipulate men. It is possible that she chooses to manipulate Candide’s honorable nature to save herself from a life of poverty and misery” (I). Women have improved their ability to succeed in life and realized that they are not just sex objects, but people who have the same rights as men.