the Old Woman

E190090

The Old Woman is a resilient, sharp-witted servant and storyteller in Voltaire’s satirical novella "Candide," known for her tragic backstory and cynical perspective on suffering.

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All labels observed (2)

Label Occurrences
The Old Lady 1
the Old Woman canonical 1

Statements (46)

Predicate Object
instanceOf fictional character
literary character
servant
storyteller
appearsIn Candide
appearsInGenre satirical novella
associatedWithCharacter Candide
Cunégonde
Pangloss
birthStatus illegitimate daughter of a pope and a princess
characterTrait cynical
pragmatic
resilient
sharp-witted
conclusionView accepts the need to cultivate one’s garden as a practical philosophy
createdBy Voltaire
father Pope
finalOccupation laborer on the farm at the end of Candide
knownFor cynical perspective on suffering
long narrative of misfortunes
tragic backstory
languageOfWork French
mother Princess of Palestrina
narrativeFunction illustrates extremity of human suffering
offers worldly wisdom to Candide and Cunégonde
provides counterpoint to Pangloss’s optimism
nationality half Italian
half Polish
philosophicalView believes almost everyone would choose death over reliving their life
skeptical of the idea that this is the best of all possible worlds
roleInWork companion to Candide
servant to Cunégonde
settingTraversed Italy
Portugal
South America
suffers enslavement
famine
loss of her buttock to soldiers
plague
rape
survives massacres
shipwreck
slavery
themeRelation critiques philosophical optimism
embodies human resilience amid suffering
workPublicationYear 1759

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Candide mainCharacter the Old Woman
Candide (operetta by Leonard Bernstein) mainCharacter the Old Woman
subject surface form: Candide
this entity surface form: The Old Lady