After finishing the old Woman's story I was impressed by her resilience. Not physical but rather the resilience of her soul. She was able to resist incredible tortures and treasons through her life and still she retained her integrity. We see her inability to free herself from such a horrible reality here: "I have wanted o kill myself a hundred times, but somehow I am still in love with life" (57). She even said that her life was "a burden one would gladly throw away" (57). Those times as described here were brutal, where war and violence ruled. (like today) There was no escape for those who were innocent and meant no harm to anybody. Even though some parts of this novel are satirical and absurd there is one part incredibly realistic: "I have met only twelve who have voluntarily put an end to their misery. . ." (57). Having so much suffering in the book makes this body count possible.
I do find the story of the old woman disturbing but the way she acted is even more so. Seeing so much suffering made me think if there was a breaking point where suffering went beyond the capacity for humans to bear. Is it possible that such love for life was a clue for insanity? Is there a point that once reached makes continuing living something absurd? Most wound heal but those as deep as showed here will most likely remain open for ever in a normal person and if they were to close a scar would cover them. Was it truly worth it to continue living in such hell to finally be able to fulfill her destiny of helping Cunégonde? Could Voltaire be trying to show us that humans can make each other reach the limit in which life is no longer worth it?
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