Aside from Candide and Pangloss, the character who suffers the most in this novel and demonstrates that the world is far from the best of all possible places is Cudgeon's servant, the old woman. With the characterization of the old woman, Voltaire makes it quite clear that he is satirizing human suffering and the value of philosophy that seeks to endorse or even defend one's existence in such a cruel world. The old woman went from having the brightest of futures -- that of being a beautiful woman of noble and wealthy lineage preparing to marry a prince -- to the worst of all possible fates. She lived to see everyone that she cared for, including the prince she was to marry as well as her family members, killed and oftentimes raped. She herself is raped on numerous occasions, beaten savagely, taken advantage of, sold and resold into slavery, and...
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