Candide Essay

In Voltaire’s satirical novel Candide he presents the issue of how the objectification and
mistreatment of women was acceptable in society through the use of casual, matter-of-fact tone,
irony, and mock heroism.
Voltaire reveals this issue through the casual tone that Cunégonde tells the story of her
family’s death and her capture and mistreatment by Bulgar soldiers and the mistreatment that
followed. Cunégonde tells the tragic story of her family’s death and how she was raped by a
soldier then goes on to say how she “didn’t appreciate that what was happening in [her] father’s
house was in no way unusual” (41). This statement, made in a relaxed manner, shows how
women were mistreated in society so often that Cunégonde’s horrifying story was not
uncommon. Voltaire brings light to the fact that this was how women were treated by having
Cunégonde tell this horrible story in a fairly nonchalant manner only to reveal that it was a
common occurrence. Cunégonde also states how the Bulgar captain that took her in ran out of
money and “as he had grown tired of [her] he sold her to Don Issachar” (41). This man treated
Cunégonde like an object, simply getting rid of her when he became bored. The fact that
Cunégonde states this as simply a fact shows how the objectification of women was widely
accepted in society, even by the women who were being objectified. Similarly, the old woman
later casually refers to herself as an object, showing how this issue permeated different
generations and societies. Because women tolerated, and even accepted, being treated like an
object or property, their objectification only became more prominent in society.
In addition to this matter of fact tone, Voltaire uses irony to further his view that women
are mistreated and oppressed. When Cunégonde was attacked and raped by the Bulgar soldier,
a Bulgar captain came in and when the soldier did not move, the “lack of respect for an officer
so enraged the captain, that he slew the brute across [Cunégonde’s] body” (41). The officer
killed the soldiers because he failed to show the proper respect for the officer. This is ironic
because this officer saw Cunégonde being taken advantage of, and yet what made him angry
enough to kill was the fact that he was not being shown proper respect. The Bulgar captain was
not thinking about Cunégonde, although he saved her. Women were thought of as objects and
not considered of much importance. Cunégonde also states that “A woman of honour can be
ravished once, but the experience is tonic for her virtue” (41). This is ironic because what the
reader would expect to be a traumatizing experience, Cunégonde refers to as something that
invigorates her virtue. This goes to show how it was almost expected for women to be abused
like this at least once. Cunégonde’s accepting of this reflects the view of most women in society
at this time. Women expected to be mistreated, which further allowed the issue to remain
present in society.
Voltaire also uses mock heroism to show the exploitation of women in society. When
Cunégonde tells her story she talks of how the Bulgar captain killed the soldier who had raped
her and took her in. This captain is portrayed as having saved her, but in reality he used
Cunégonde and kept her as a slave. Voltaire mocks the traditional idea of a man saving the
“damsel in distress” by having this man save Cunégonde, then go and treat her as his slave.
This is significant because it demonstrates Voltaire’s idea that women are not only exploited and
mistreated by a few immoral men, but that this treatment of women is common and widespread.
Cunégonde is saved from this soldier only to be treated like a slave by another man.
Additionally, instead of being enraged at the captain for being treated in this manner,
Cunégonde accepts her fate as his slave, and even admires his looks. She states that he
thought her to be “pretty as well as useful” and that he was “quite handsome himself” (41).
Cunégonde does not look at this man with anger for keeping her as a slave, but actually
admires him. It is quite clear that Cunégonde is not angry with the captain because he saved
her from the soldier and took care of her wound. Admiring his looks shows how Cunégonde
sees him in a positive light. The fact that she is not upset with him for treating her as a slave
could be due to her feeling as though she owes him because he rescued her from a possibly
worse fate. This idea can be applied to other women in society who accept being oppressed by
men because there is the chance that they could have it worse. Later in the novel, Pacquette
shares a similar story of being saved by a doctor and becoming his mistress out of gratitude.
Voltaire uses mock heroism to further establish his view that the widespread mistreatment of
women was an issue in society.
In conclusion, Voltaire’s satirical novel Candide reveals the issue of how the
objectification and mistreatment of women was acceptable in society, including by the women
who were being mistreated, through the use of casual, matter-of-fact tone, irony, and mock
heroism.

Rewrite notes:
- I changed some of the wording in the first body paragraph to make it less repetitive
- I completely rewrote the second body paragraph because I had previously used
evidence outside of the 40 lines I was supposed to stay within.
- I also rewrote half of the third body paragraph for the same reason.
- I made corrections and edits throughout the essay to make writing more coherent