I found this great article online that describes Voltaire's various critiques on society, including his views on women.
http://www.articlemyriad.com/71.htm
The author states that although it may seem progresive that Voltaire portrays women as subject to violent male desire through stories of rape, enslavement, and submission, it is more likely that Voltaire believes women are weak and incompetent. Cunegonde and the Old Woman are repressed by men and are strangely represented in the novel; Voltaire depicts them as helpless victims which also show strength in the facing adversity. The author of this article write, "It seems however, that the 'strength' that these women show might not be a statement on the internal powers of women, but rather that they have no choice than to adapt to a gruesome and misogynistic situation." What do you all think? Was Voltaire portraying women as strong figures or as weak creatures who adapted to their environment?
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Julia, I think you ask a very interesting question. I really don't know if Voltaire was trying to portray women as strong figures or as weak figures that adapt to their enviornment. But if I had to guess, I think he was portraying them as strong figures. The way the Old Woman talks about rape is so unique and new that to me it is a sign of strength. Also, when you are reading the story you get a very confident vibe from the women, rather than weak.
I guess I'll play the devil's advocate. Although Voltaire attempts to demonstrate a progressive viewpoint, I believe that he inevitably portrays women as weak figures. His two main female characters, Cunegonde and the Old Woman, both suffer countless rapes. This represents the oppression that females suffer because of males and the complacency of this heinous act of violence. In addition, the women of Candide are time after time depicted as the property of men. Although Voltaire does believe that women happen to be weaker than males in society, I think he satirizes this issue in hopes of promoting change for the future.
I think Voltaire views that women should be seen as equal. In Eldorado, both men and women were in the highest position of power. If Eldorado is Voltaire's own Utopia, then he views women as equals. But the rest of Europe viewed them as inferior, weak beings. I think Voltaire really does think they should be equal; he was a progressive thinker. However, the rest of Europe was behind his thinking.
I believe woman are portrayed as both strong and weak figures. Voltaire incorporated both good and bad elements in the women in the story. Although the Old Woman is raped (a sign of oppression), she also displays extreme intelligence and insight. In Eldorado, men and woman are depicted as equals. I consider this a demonstration of Votaire's belief in equality, although at other points in the book he shows how women are still considered the property of men.
I think Blaine's got the right idea. Voltaire is a product of his time because Cunegonde talks about being raped casually and says she's become more virtuous because of the first time, which certainly seems like it promotes a such an awful act. But then the women of Eldorado are given equality, and it's clear that Eldorado is very Utopian too. So his view of women is fairly ambiguous. It appears, to me at least, that he would like to believe in equality but is reluctant to do so because of the societal values during his lifetime.
I think Voltaire shows both the actual place of women in that society and the place he thinks that they deserve. His female characters are mostly weak and ridiculously complacent, as they would have been viewed. But in his perfect world, men and women are equal. I personally can't think of a better way for an author to express his opinion than to create a theoretically perfect society and inject his beliefs into it. I think Voltaire includes the negative aspect of the womens' lives not to show his own views, but to illustrate the difference between what is and what ought to be.
Clearly, there are good arguments to be made for both side of this issue. Take Cunegonde's story, for instance. I don't know if I prefer the interpretation given by Julia's source or by Katherine. I do wonder, however, if Voltaire really sees rape and rape prevention as the responsibility of the woman. Regardless of whether or not Voltaire saw women as weak, it seems likely to me that he is being sarcastic when Cunegonde says, "I held [the Jew] off better than I had done with the Bulgar soldier... virtue is only strengthened by the experience." I think Voltaire may be trying to draw attention to the fact that women had been left to fend for themselves in society, and I believe that this interpretation may be supported by the fact that a soldier, someone who ought to be keeping order, is the perpetrator of the rape.
Why does everyone take Candide as the barometer of Voltaire's views on anything? He wrote 120 volumes, including 59 plays, 8 or 9 history books, and lord knows how many stories and essays.There are a lot misconceptions above, both about him and his era. He had Catherine the Great of Russia, the Duchess of Saxe-Gotha and Frederick the Great's sister among his friends and correspondants. He had a 17 year love affair with the Marquise du Chatelet, a well-known scientist and mathematician at the time, and he constantly told everyone she was a greater genius than he was. I’ve read his correspondance, and these are only the 'better-known' of the women he admired and befriended throughout his long life.
If you want his attitude toward women, try “The Education of Daughters” or “Wives, Submit to Your Husbands” which is satirical title. (It’s about a marquise who happens across that line in the Bible, and tells the priest visiting her what a rude man St Paul was to write it.) It’s a shame people know only Candide these days. It was only an asterisk to far more important works in his day.
Candide was an attack on the complacency engendered by Leibniz's popular philosophy, claiming that the world is the best it can be. All the incidents in it are a ferocious satire of that attitude, and that all it is, or rather it's the whole point of the story.
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