Bittersweet Fairy Tale

Chapters 6-11 had various things, which stuck out to me. I would like to talk about the two that I myself found worthy mentioning: Jacques' death and Cunegonde's reappearance. 

The significance of Jacques' death to me remains inconclusive. I have two possible theories and or interpretations to it, so I will simply lay them out and let the reader burden him or herself with the answer. Here it goes. 

Option 1. Jacques' death could represent Voltaire's criticism of the optimistic belief that evil is always balanced by good. In this case being Jacques the "good one", that perishes while saving a sailor, who's sensual indulgence in the face of death is grotesque and inhumane, which presents the obvious case of evil overpowering good and not the classic balance of powers as it should be. Option 2. Jacques' death could also represent the uselessness of Christian values. Referred to many times as "the Anabaptist," Jacques is an altruist, meaning that he lives life by "giving and receiving" which is amusing considering the fact that he ends up being a victim of his own altruism as he lends a helping hand to receive death as his compensation. 

Cunegonde's situation on the other hand also inspires a similarly subversive combination of horror and absurdity. Her story on the surface demonstrates the obvious demented lack of respect that was lent to woman in the 18th century, since they were bought and sold like a piece of livestock. But beyond the rights a woman was ceased to in the era, what really drew me to ultimately enjoying these last few chapters of todays reading was the dramatic love triangle of rage, jealousy, and possesitivity between Cunegonde and her "masters." Also, the fact that Candide "heroically" ends up killing these men, in my opinion gave the book an almost fairytale-like ending, in which two young lovers that fought off "evil", go on to live happily ever after. 

FIN