Gender Inequality In Candide

In Candide, Voltaire savagely attacks several aspects and attitudes within 18th century European society. One such aspect of European society is the oppressive, demeaning and restrictive gender roles of women. Although the push towards gender equality took flight during the Enlightenment, women were still regarded as subservient creatures who exist only for the pleasure of men. Degraded and sexually objectified, the worth of a woman rested on her physical attractiveness to men who wanted to claim them for their own, like, according to English feminist writer and rhetorician, “tulips in a garden (A Serious Proposal to the Ladies, Part I).” In Candide, Voltaire highlights the injustice committed towards women and satirizes gender roles during the 18th century through the characterization of Cunégonde, the Old Woman, and Paquette. Throughout Candide, Voltaire satirizes the …show more content…
After the death of the Grand Inquisitor and the Jew, Cunégonde becomes terribly frightened of how she would be able to support herself without the presence of a man. She asks, “‘Who could have stolen my doubloons and my diamonds?... What will we live on? How will we get by? Where will I find an Inquisitor or a Jew who will give me more? (Voltaire 19)’” Even though a murder has taken place and Cunégonde is finally free from the captivity of the two men who treat her like an expensive toy, she becomes frightened that she will be unable to find another man who can support her. This is a direct satirization of the inferiority of women and their role as subservient, incapable, and lesser individuals in European society. Voltaire also does this by the fact that Cunégonde is unable to marry a man of her choice because her brother deemed otherwise. Cunégonde’s voice and free will, along with the other women in this tale, are non-existent and instead given entirely to the power of