Voltaire's portrayal of old age.

A survey of Voltaire's fifty plays, written over a period of sixty-six years, was made to ascertain the traits and roles assigned to the elderly, the influence of genre and the author's age on the way they are portrayed, and the factors to which the traits associated with the elderly are attributed. The elderly have an important role in the plays, but they are portrayed more favorably in tragedy than in comedy. The period of life at which Voltaire wrote the plays did not appear to affect his treatment of old age. Psychological traits attributed to the elderly derive from character rather than age, though age is shown to tone down the emotions. The only trait consistently and specifically ascribed to old age is wisdom.