Berman L, Nelson J
Int J Aging Hum Dev. 1986;24(3):161-9. doi: 10.2190/vxwp-gmjb-awg4-dql6.
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.
对伏尔泰在六十六年时间里创作的五十部戏剧进行了一项调查，以确定赋予老年人的特征和角色、体裁以及作者年龄对其刻画方式的影响，以及与老年人相关特征的归因因素。老年人在戏剧中扮演着重要角色，但他们在悲剧中的形象比在喜剧中更正面。伏尔泰创作这些戏剧的人生阶段似乎并未影响他对老年的刻画。赋予老年人的心理特征源自性格而非年龄，不过年龄被表现为能缓和情绪。唯一始终且明确归因于老年的特征是智慧。
