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Allusions
Definition of Ethos
Ethos, along with logos and pathos, is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric (the art of effective speaking or writing). Ethos is an argument that appeals to... read full definition
Ethos, along with logos and pathos, is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric (the art of effective speaking or writing). Ethos is... read full definition
Ethos, along with logos and pathos, is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric (the art of effective... read full definition
Chapter 11
Explanation and Analysis—The Old Woman's Story:
Candide, Cunégonde, and an elderly woman are forced to flee Portugal after Candide kills both Don Issachar (a Jewish merchant) and the Grand Inquisitor of the Portuguese Inquisition. Onboard a ship to the new world, the elderly woman wields ethos in an argument with Cunegonde regarding the difficulties of life. After telling the others about the events of her life, including her background as the daughter of a Pope and her enslavement by various parties in North Africa, the old woman states that:
I would never even have spoken to you of my misfortunes, had you not piqued me a little, and if it were not customary to tell stories on board a ship in order to pass away the time. In short, Miss Cunegonde, I have had experience, I know the world; therefore I advise you to divert yourself, and prevail upon each passenger to tell his story; and if there be one of them all, that has not cursed his life many a time, that has not frequently looked upon himself as the unhappiest of mortals, I give you leave to throw me headforemost into the sea.”
Earlier, Cunégonde claimed that her own suffering had been greater than anyone else's, as she has suffered through a series of devastating events—including being raped and disembowled by Bulgarian soldiers and witnessing the brutal slaughter of her family. The old woman, however, argues that the events of her own life have been even more catastrophic, as she was kidnapped and enslaved by various armies in Northern Africa through a number of violent civil wars. After telling her sad tale, she wields ethos, noting that she has “had experience” of great suffering and therefore has the authority to claim that every person has “cursed his life many a time” and regarded themselves as “the unhappiest of mortals.” The old woman, then, uses ethos to strengthen her argument that suffering is universal in life.
Related Themes:
