Typically in books written in 1700s France, we would expect to see women portrayed in a certain fashion; foolish, meddlesome, nosy, or maybe sexual. They're written to serve, one way or another. Cunegonde is different. She doesn't play the shallow role of the ditsy Duke's daughter that we may expect. Instead, she represents something much more significant to Candide.
Cunegonde was Candide's forbidden fruit. He lived in the garden of Eden, the best of possible castles in the best of possible worlds. He was exiled when he tasted the forbidden fruit, Cunegonde. Even after his exile, even after receiving word of her fate, he continues to lust and want for her. I believe she represents that little rift in this best of possible worlds that makes one question the legitimacy of its perfection.
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