In his blog, Manuel Andres talks about the different characters in Candide and how they have suffered. He focuses on three main characters so far: Candide, Lady Cunegonde, and the Old Lady. Both women share their tragic story and Candide´s misfortunes are the ones that the readers live through. As Manuel mentions, all of them are sure that their calamities are the worst and that their lives has been the most miserable of all.
The characters are fictional, therefore so are their misfortunes, but they are based on real situations of that time period, such as the Spanish inquisition, the earthquake of Lisbon and the European aristocracies. Manuel also mentions that Voltaire uses a lot of hyperbole, and I agree with him. Voltaire exaggerates the situation and sometimes even makes it absurd, in order to mock these characters lives. It is clear that Voltaire is mocking the live style of that time period the society. Not only is he making fun of it but he is also criticizing the rulers of the time, such as the German nobility and the French aristocracy.
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