Of all the characters' suffering
in Candide, the suffering of the old woman would win the prize, if
there were one. When tales of woe are exchanged, the horrors of her life are beyond
imagining, including the loss of one buttock when she was cannibalized. Through her
character and the epic nature of her physical trials, much satire is achieved in regard
to Candide's search for truth; based on her history and the world as she has experienced
it, the philosophy of optimism becomes far more difficult to
defend.
The old woman had not been born to her sorry state.
She is the daughter of Pope Urban X (a significant satirical religious reference in the
novel) and a princess. Growing up in wealth as Princess Palestrina, she had been
extraordinarily beautiful. Through a series of fantastic, horrendous events, she had
become the deformed old woman Candide meets.
Despite her
tribulations, however, the old woman has not given up. Although she had once
contemplated suicide, she could not relinquish her life; she carries on, even though she
has no reason to expect a better future--and she does not get one for quite a while
after meeting Candide. More misery ensues until she is rescued by Candide to spend her
days on the farm where she finds life terribly
dull.
Through the old woman, life is presented as one
terrifying experience after another, punctuated by periods of drudgery and boredom--yet
human beings cling to it. Many pretend to be happy and optimistic to endure life; some,
like the old woman, just keep living. She is developed in the novel as a very memorable
satirical portrait of the human condition.
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