Voltaire’s novella, Candide, uses satire to discuss and criticise philosophical Optimism, the prevalent Catholic philosophy during his time period, the Enlightenment era. Voltaire himself was known to oppose this theory, and employed caricatural figures in his writing, such as the characters of Pangloss and Martin, to mock the ideas that they stand for. The old woman, as a character, is not a protagonist nor does she show up particularly frequently in the text, but she is significant to the theme of the story.
In Candide, Voltaire uses the character of the old woman to contradict the Optimism/Pessimism of Pangloss/Martin and develop a theme that the best philosophy is one that accepts the evil in the world yet perseveres in spite of it. The old woman is used in the novella to aide in the delegitimization of Pangloss’ character and the philosophical Optimism that he represents. Pangloss is heavily satirized as a character, as a result of his ridiculous, illogical ideology, which essentially concludes that all things, good or bad, happen for a reason.
Pangloss loses touch with reality and the significance of the events which occur, yet he maintains famously that all is for the best “… in this the best of all possible worlds… ” (2). He is ignorant to all of the horrors which occur around him on a daily basis, notably exemplified immediately following the Lisbon earthquake, when Candide is trapped underneath some wreckage, presumably in a critical state, yet Pangloss refused to help and instead preached about the abstract causes of the earthquakes (15-16).
This symbolizes the unconstructive nature of philosophical Optimism and those who believe in it; people are more than willing to complain and to diagnose the world’s problems, but will do nothing to help. Voltaire’s point when writing around this issue is that the belief that all things happen for a reason fosters a sense of laziness, because if bad things are going to happen anyway, and it’s all for good in the end, then what’s the point of fighting back?
Pangloss’ philosophy leads to a lack of compassion, and is ultimately misbegotten, when at the end of the novella, “Pangloss confessed that he had always suffered horribly; but, having once maintained that everything was for the best, he had continued to maintain it without believing it” (111). This quote shows that even Pangloss, the figurehead of Philosophical Optimism throughout Candide had lost respect for the philosophy by the end. The old woman as a character contributes to the downfall of this Optimism in the development of the storyline, because her own philosophy rivals it so well.
The old lady acts as an antithesis to the idea of philosophical Optimism, which is represented by Pangloss, because she represents productivity in the face of hardship; when her life was ruined over and over, she turned around and put her energy into helping Cunegonde, whereas Pangloss, when confronted with challenges, would merely attempt to rationalize them using the flawed logic of philosophical Optimism. The old woman’s philosophy, however, no more aligns with blind pessimism than it does with blind optimism.
Though the old woman does not serve to promote philosophical Optimism within the novella, her goal is not to champion the Manichaeism (which is characterized in the novella as being, more or less, philosophical Pessimism) of Martin, either. Martin’s philosophy is that the injustices of the world are inevitable, so the only way to protect oneself is to dissociate from their own self-consciousness, and to eliminate all hope and expectations in order to avoid disappointment and pain. Martin refuses to accept that there is any happiness or good left in the world, so there’s truly no point in living.
The old woman would disagree; “… a hundred times [she] wanted to kill herself but [she] still loved life” (36). While Martin has all but completely lost hope in the goodness of the world, the old woman maintains that, although bad things may happen without any reason, there are still reasons to value life and to help improve one’s own existence (and that of others) in the face of unexplainable evil in the world. Martin is shown once again to have lost confiden the goodness of mankind when he says, while explaining his Manichaeism, “…
I confess that when I consider this globe, or rather this globule, I think that God has abandoned it to some evil creature–always excepting Eldorado. ” (69). Despite the fact that Martin is sure that the world is evil, that God has left mankind to their fall, he does very little to help anyone else, or to overcome the supposed evils of the world, like Pangloss, so the character of the old woman functions also as a foil to his pessimism because of her determination to make the best of out of what she is served, while he only wishes to be allowed to continue to revel in his unhappiness.
When Martin comments on the purity of Eldorado as well, it leaves the question, if Eldorado was so fantastic, the only place where Martin was confident that there was still good in the world, then why would he leave? His overall dissatisfaction with life and vague pretentiousness would suggest that he could never be pleased by the world, due to his inherent pessimism, so leaving Eldorado and again being hit with the onslaught of evil, which he perceives as being the only thing that the world has to offer, would justify his philosophy and affirm his own manner of living life.
Martin is perfectly pleased with being unhappy, because living a life of misery means that he is “right”. The old woman therefore contradicts Martin, because the purpose of her implied philosophy is to emphasize the pursuit of happiness, in spite of the evils that she recognizes in humanity. The old woman embodies the theme that perseverance and hope is key to surviving the evil in the world. The old woman has had a tough life, yet she refuses to give up. Instead of committing suicide, she throws herself into fixing the problems which everyone else in the book simply whines about and helping Cunegonde through her own struggles.
This philosophy is portrayed as the ideal in Candide through Voltaire’s characterization of the old lady. She is portrayed as the only reasonably wise character in the story; Pangloss is outrageous and satirically caricatured, Martin is pessimistic for the sole purpose of being pessimistic, Candide is naive and generally unable to offer others much guidance, and Cunegonde is not developed as a character who has a brain whatsoever, a described only in terms of her beauty.
The old lady, in stark contrast to the other major characters in the novella, is logical, and to the best of her ability, objective. This is exemplified when she advises Cunegonde in South America, “... it is in your power to be the wife of the greatest Lord in South America, who has an exceedingly fine moustache... If I were in your place, I confess | should not have the least scruple in marrying the governor and making Captain Candide’s fortune” (39).
Although the old woman in this case is an obstacle to the protagonist Candide, her suggestion to Cunegonde is logical and makes the most sense at this point in the book. She does not pretend that evil es not exist, but rather seeks to overcome it. She recognizes that many people have difficult lives, shown when she says to Cunegonde, “… make each passenger tell you his story; and if there is one who has not often cursed his life, who has not often said to himself that he was the most unfortunate of men, throw me headfirst into the sea” (37).
This quote follows a long recountment of her past struggles, and serves to show that she understands that each person must face their own hardships, yet celebrates the fact that despite their problems, they are all still living. Her perseverance and optimism come from a place of experience, as she has endured shocking difficulties of her own, so she is more reliable than the other characters, who follow their philosophies blindly.
The old woman, furthermore, is not a caricature of any single trait, as the other characters are, signifying that Voltaire’s own philosophy likely aligns best with hers than any other character. She is the middle ground between extreme pessimism and optimism, and her reasonable outlook is what grounds Candide, when it is full of a multitude of other foolish, empty characters. The old woman is used in Voltaire’s Candide to counterbalance the philosophical Optimism and Manichaeism of other characters through the development of an ideology which she represents, that of realistic optimism.
While Pangloss symbolizes ignorance and a lack of compassion for others, the old woman is optimistic because she has gone through many struggles in her own life, yet still believes there is hope for humanity, as long as humans are willing to make an effort to improve the world around them. She also opposes Martin’s pessimism and general apathy regarding that which occurs around him, and chooses to recognize the value in life. Voltaire created the character of the old woman to show that the best philosophy is one that accepts the evil in the world yet perseveres in spite of it.