Injustice Toward Women. Candide by Voltaire - Essay Example

Task Introduction Women roles, abilities, and prohibition from informal networks are an extreme barrier to the success of womenin the society. Habitually, society thinks women lack significant management and experience due to the commitments they have in the family responsibilities. In the Voltaire’s novel Candide, women injustice is portrayed in the form of mistreatment that is vivid throughout the novel and show the cruel realities of life that different characters faced. Women were viewed as shallow and insignificant to men, and possessed no power within the society and were expected to present themselves in a respectable manner. Women who opposed the values of the society faced rejection and were not recognized within the populace. The purpose of focusing the study of injustice toward the woman is to emphasize that the novel will help us to develop the thesis of the study women identity from the starting point of women injustice in the society. Men claim to value and respect the dignity of women in the society, they abuse them at every opportunity. In the Novel, most of the significant female characters are raped and treated brutally by men characters this is depicted by Cunegonde who inform Candide of mistreatment during the war. In various countries, rules and laws are formulated to protect the injustice of women; although, the situation is not perfect the rules have helped to maintain women justice in society. Various human rights often do not recognize the justice rights of women around the world especially as they explain the subordination and injustices committed against women in society. Women suffer injustice in marriage laws and divorces the infidelity in the wife will always make most people to sympathize with man without tangible reasons of condemnation. As in almost all contract of marriages the husband has a substantial superiority to the wife. Thus, the injury done to his honor will be more grievous, as all effects done to a superior by inferior are more sensibly felt than those done to an inferior (Montes and Schliesser 51). The Voltaire’s novel Candide will help to discuss how injustice toward women affected the characters, and how the injustice is still significant in today’s society. The novel is full of exceptionally incident of the sexual exploitation of Women in the society, and this abuse was imposed on the three major characters old women, Cunegonde, and paquette. These characters were all raped, induced into sexual bondage that caused psychological, social, and physical problems. The victims were viewed as immoral, and many people looked down on the victim without understanding the difficulties they had to endure. When Candide says he wants to marry Cunegonde, Maximilian refuses the marriage saying that Candide is not worthy to marry the product of generation of nobility in the society. The writer use three characters to demonstrate the extraordinary dangers that women are vulnerable and that affect the way they live in the society. Although, men really want a strong woman with outstanding virtues, many view these types of women as stubborn and bad example to society. The pressure on women’s time and the gender injustice that women face, with remarkable limited access to the productive resources, have serious implication for the sustainable development in the community. According to Montes and Schliesser (53) gender injustice, occur when women face ongoing covert attempts to maintain their subordination, and when men face sustained efforts to deprive them access to necessary resources or view them as inferior gender in the society. When women face the tests to existing relations of power, and their attempts to change the injustice condition, encounters severe outcomes. For example, the male character in the novel respect the power and sexual chastity in women, but when Cunegonde tries to show her dignity by defending her right, he makes it impossible for her and other women to value such sexual chastity. When a society exists with an unjust treatment, it cannot have gender-neutral policies that support the rights of women, and these policies are indifferent to existing injustice that allow this situation to continue oppressing women (Montes and Schliesser 54). Women face challenges in life and public, possible opening and insist that the policy makers should subvert the legacy and transform existing mistreatment practices. The devaluation of women are systematically build into the way society live and think, and the consequences of this devaluation are that women are disproportionately grouped in opportunity limiting situation and highly exploitable places. To comprehend the gender injustice involves understanding the position that women occupy in socio-economic structures and practices, the negative effect of occupying these positions are severe, but due to lack of empowerment, they opt to keep the oppressing positions (Radford 14). The problems of women are variety, and mostly all the problems that occur in the society are associated with women’s problems. In many societies, the structure is formulated, and functions as man want it to, and not as woman wishes it to be, and this is demonstrated in the novel where female character wishes that men would respect their views about their right in the society. In the novel, men do not understand the psychology trauma these women faced, and were always required to adjust the needs of men without questioning; hence, some faced the oppression process from their birth to death. Women are often looked down upon as a course in the community and associated with all problems because they are weak sex, and are kept detached from the men leading in confinement. Women are referred to as child producing machine, and in case she gives birth to a female child, society does not respect her because the male child is much valued in many societies (Williams and Invernizzi 21). Social degradation of women is advantageous to men, and women were treated on the same level as domestic animal because they were given no property rights; hence, they were the burden to the society. During the marriage time, the gifts that are brought to the family of the bride are valued more than the bride is, because the dowry issue came into existence when society looked upon woman more as an object. In the novel, the presence of women in society was seen as an economic calamity that why they were oppressed and abused by male characters who viewed them as object of satisfaction. The act of killing the female child is not a unitary situation as it has several consequences like economic, social, and psychological trauma that affects not only the child’s mother but also the society. The population control policies evolved out of class based interests that placed the responsibility of being poor on the sexual behavior of the poor women, thus deflecting equal distribution of resources. In the novel, priests and governors extort sexual favors from their female counterpart, and executives oppressed slaves because they were hopeless due to poverty in their life. The inequality of women in the novel was part of the reason why violence against the major characters is the type of rape and sexual abuse was inadequately dealt with (Dorling 309). The sexual abuse of women was an extension of the attitudes of a society that overvalued men and would not face the facts how men abused women. The reason why women injustice is continuing to expand in the society is that the problem is seen as injustice offense rather than violent act; hence, male prosecutors and judges favor the male criminals. This injustice should awake women consciousness so that they can find public voices and use their own experience on the sexual and other injustice to impose the laws in the society. The injustice toward women and those in massive poverty should be eliminated by discovering the cause of this injustice in the system, the culture, and the women psyche. Women injustice is a violent act that society would not respect because they view women as subject of such the oppression and have no right to justify the injustices committed against them. In the novel, priest oppressed the poor, female by asking for sexual favors after assistance, and the author viewed the act as going against the churches ethics that was seen as the violation of power. He argues that the society is evil because God himself is unjust; for example, in Bible the experience of woman, Tamar, it is vivid that despite her ethical courage she has no social power to actualize her moral vision. Amnon abuses her and King David ignores her claim and eventually avenged by Absalom without her participation; hence, she is violated and marginalized that reveals the injustice she experienced as women. This story explain why Voltaire does not accept that a perfect God exists he criticize the idea that the world must be completely good. Because the Pangloss and Candide, suffers and experiences a variety of injustice like floggings, rapes, robberies, unreasonable treated, these injustice do not serve any apparent goodness of God, but they only show brutal act and foolishness of humankind and the indifference of the natural world (Radford 13). The author introduces a Jesuit with homosexual traits to show how religious leaders in the novel carry out inhumane activities of sexual injustice and oppression against those who disagree with them on even slightest of religious matters. Women are vulnerable to injustice because they are full of life in contrast to those oppress them who own empty conscious because they act out of primitive in relation to the women who are helpless to defend themselves like the case of old women who were raped in the novel. The societies do not balance the ways on how to deal with most of the oppressors that cause the injustice towards women in society. According to Voltaire, the continuous pessimism is bad optimism, and both positions have no outcome on the status quo; thus, leaders continue to degrade women a systematically way in order to build the society. The consequences of this devaluation are that women are disproportionately grouped in opportunity limiting situation that why Voltaire try to attacks the status quo in the Candide. For the content, Voltaire introduced Cunegonde a woman who served as models for all men and women so that he would demonstrate the fight for sexual chastity in the society; although, he makes it hard for women to preserve such sexual chastity that shows hypocritical feature of Voltaire’s Europe. Justice concerns the proper and fair distribution of resources and rectifying injustice or unfair practices towards women in society (Allen 571). While, in the novel the work of Voltaire can be seen as considering the broader issue of the oppression of female in distribution of resources of responsibility in the society. The writer focuses on addressing the injustice towards women, and demonstrates that the slander against women is unjust and unfair because it partakes of the extremes in generalizing about all women. This is demonstrated, by the way, male character in the narrative perceives Cunegonde as, a paragon of female virtue where he bases his judgment on willful blindness to the real condition of all women in society. The author presents his claims about the injustice towards women in the context of immoral and corrupt rulers directing illegal structure of human laws in the manner inconsistent with the just structure of divine law. In addition, the author shows how powerful institutions practiced illegal structure to do no good, but instead to oppress the weak in society, and he personally protested piercingly against political injustice in society throughout his life. Witnessing how priests and governors extort sexual pressure from their female subjects, through discussion of the accounts of the sexual exploitation of women, he leads the reader to the ultimate goal of understanding significant of justice towards women. When Candide explain his intensions to marry Cunegonde, who has grown ugly, slovenly, and referred by Maximilian as the product of 72 generations of nobility; Candide draw upon the notion that men should protect women and not defame them by killing Maximilian. The Voltaire discuss the suffering of women who are deceived by men, and who are betrayed by men by showing how the main character Cunegonde suffered after shock strikes that led Candide to escapes with an old woman, and Bulgars who raped and killed her family. His own experience of witnessing molestation of women, and explaining the love that Candide shown Cunegonde develop his point of not all women, but some men who intentionally use deception in an injustice context for the purposes of domination and fulfilling of lust. The issue of raping an old woman in the novel raises the question that if all women are as weak as men portrays them, then why do they have to use force to abuse them, if men need to use such force to abuse old woman, then this means that not all women are weak after all (Allen 572). It is significant to understand the complexity of Voltaire male characters in the novel when they try to respect sexual chastity in women, but they argue that it is impossible for women to maintain such chastity in the society. This show that he disproves the above statement that means women are weak and cannot maintain the sexual chastity; therefore, If all women are weak, then it is not necessary for men to use complicated means to abuse them. In addition, the romance of Cunegonde with Candide demonstrates that it is not necessary to use force on women; thus, not all women can be weak. The author argument on the way biased nature of abuse used by men against women; indicate that consistently men deliberately devalue women in the society, and if women would discuss their identity then some diverse perspectives would be necessary. In repeated fight for woman justice, in the novel, Voltaire gives various example of injustices incidences toward the women oppression and importance in a society that shows that women’s virtues are of value than men’s virtues, and men’ vices are worse than women’s vices (Allen 573). Therefore, it shows that it is no virtue for women to abstain from the acts of injustice because of her nature, meanwhile, man, has to be conscious in committing the injustice, and on the other hand, if a man has conscious to resists such injustice, against his nature; therefore, he is virtuous. When Candide draw upon the notion that men should protect women and not defame them by killing the Maximilian shows the example of the virtuous man in the society. The Voltaire’s novel Candide demonstrates that women’s nature is highly intelligent and refined, and she does not use her intelligent to oppress, to deceive and deserve appreciation rather than oppression, and sexual abuse from men. The author demonstrate injustice toward women in various examples of sexual abuse, racial prejudice and coercion of the poor in society, but his introduction of men characters who do not believe if women can maintain chastity portrays him as hypocritical. The novel Pangloss admit that he does not “believe a word of” his own previous optimistic suggestion of justice that shows that the author generalize that there is devaluation and injustice towards women in society. Men treat women as a weak gender and accessibility of higher positions in society is limited to them and given lesser position. In case of training and career development opportunities in the company, there is significant discrimination in gender consideration; women are denied the chance to these opportunities (Allen 574). The poverty, unemployment, and the increase of vulnerability of the environment as shown in the novel where an old woman advice Cunegonde to purchase a farm so that they would improves the living standards show that they would protect themselves from women injustice of oppression and sexual abuse by the authorities of numerous states and churches in society. The novel demonstrated the various ways that slaves women like Cunegonde were affected by environmental disasters and various form of violence against women. Conclusion The growing strength of the nongovernmental sectors especially those that fight against injustice toward women has become a driving for change of practicing justice to all members of the society despite their gender. Meanwhile, women donate to the benefit of society; therefore, various political, cultural and social systems should not be used to oppress and devalue the significant of woman in society. The media have potential to promote the advancement and the equality of women, by showing both women and men are equal, and by respecting the dignity and value of all human without any form of injustice (Radford21). The author work focus on creating awareness of the mistreated and slanderous claims about women identity that show the injustice towards women in society. The author develop the role of society protection against women injustice that he demonstrate when Candide draw upon the notion that men should protect women and not defame them by killing the Maximilian. In addition, it is significant to understand the hypocritical traits that Voltaire male characters in the novel portrays to respect sexual chastity in women, but they argue that it is impossible for women to maintain such chastity in the society. This show that he wants to disprove and it mean women are weak and cannot maintain their sexual chastity; therefore, if all women are weak, then it is not necessary for men to use complicated means to abuse them. Finally, the author presents his claims about the injustice towards women in the context of immoral and corrupt rulers directing illegal structure of human laws in the manner inconsistent with the just structure of divine law; therefore, the authorities should formulate laws and regulation that protect the injustice towards women in society. Works Cited Allen Prudence. 2006. The Concept of Woman, Volume 2: The Early Humanist Reformation, 1250-1500. Eerdmans Press, United Kingdom. Print. Dorling Daniel. 2011. Injustice: Why Social Inequality Persists. Policy Press, New York. Print. Montes Leonidas, Schliesser Eric. 2006. New voices on Adam Smith. Taylor and Francis Press, United Kingdom. Print. Radford Rosemary. 2011. Women and Redemption: A Theological History. Fortress Press, New York. Print. Williams Jane, Invernizzi Antonella. 2011. The Human Rights of Children: From Visions to Implementation. Ashgate Press, United Kingdom. Print Read More