Much of
the information about the old woman comes from her biography as she provides it. Once a wealthy,
great beauty and the illegitimate daughter of a pope, by the timemeets her she is a
self-described red-eyed, long-nosed servant woman. In many respects, the old woman stands for
the pervasiveness of injustice in the world, the oppression of women, and the evils of
slavery€“all of which she endures. Yet it is her endurance that creates the strongest
impression, and ultimately bolsters the theme of optimismthe faith in life that she calls a
ridiculous foible.
The old womans many qualities begin to emerge in chapter
eight. During Candides stay in Portugal, after he was whipped and witnessed the philosopher
Pangloss hanged in an auto-da-f© , the old woman takes him in, feeds and
clothes him, and heals his wounds. She later reunites him with his beloved Cunegonde, who
reveals that the woman is her servant, and that she had commissioned her to help Candide and
to...
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