During the Enlightenment Era, women are considered vixens. Yet, during this time women have no definite source of power if it did not originate from a man. In his life, Voltaire enjoys the company of two very significant women; the first his mistress who dies in labor, and the second his niece who he never marries. Although these women create a great deal of misery for the Enlightenment thinker, the women also teach Voltaire respect for the female gender. This respect for women is a notable theme in Voltaire's satire, Candide. Thus in the novel, Voltaire attacks the hypocritical nature of European expectations for female roles in society through the utilization of ironic servitude, exaggeration of beauty, and trivialization of the maltreatment
