At the beginning of the story, the protagonist Candide is chased away from his uncle's home after he is caught kissing and fondling Cunégonde.
Finally, near the end of the novel, Candide finds Cunégonde in Istanbul, but she has lost her beauty, and is now very irritable and unfortunately very shallow-minded.
However, the first part of the name may be intended as a pun, referring to the female genitalia (Latin: cunnus, French: con).
[1][2] Kunigunde, Kunigunda, or Cunigunde is a European female name of German origin derived from "kuni" (clan, family) and "gund" (war).
The role has been portrayed by skilled actresses such as Barbara Cook, who originated the role in 1956, Madeline Kahn, Kristin Chenoweth, June Anderson, Harolyn Blackwell, and Maureen Brennan, who received a Tony Award nomination and won the Theatre World Award for her performance in the 1974 Broadway revival.