Candide (Irma Qamar Nomani)OverviewCandide (or Optimism) is a satire novel written by the French writer and philosopher Voltaire (pen name of François-Marie Arouet) in 1759.  It is the tale of adventure of Candide, whose belief that everything happens for the best is turned upside down as he wanders the world with his numerous companions.   

About the Author: Voltaire and His MotivesVoltaire was born in Paris in 1694 into a middle class family.  He grew up in the Age of Enlightenment, which was a period in Western history when intellectual movements, centered in France, emphasized reason and individualism over tradition.  Since childhood, he had a sharp wit that often brought him into trouble at school.  When he began writing, his witty and satirical style of writing continued to create controversies in France.  He was imprisoned briefly in France for making fun of the government.  It was in prison that he took on the pen-name Voltaire.  Even after being released, he continued to make fun of both the church and state.1  

Voltaire wrote  in retaliation to the writings of German philosopher Gottfried Leibniz, who was a Candide proponent of Optimism and suggested that we live in the best of worlds.  In particular, after a 1746 2

earthquake in Peru and a 1755 earthquake in Lisbon, many said that the events had occurred for the best.  This idea that everything happens for a good reason troubled Voltaire.  He wrote Poeme sur le

in 1756 which expressed his discontent with the world view of the Optimists.  desastre de Lisbonne  ,  Cand too expresses this same view in a satirical manner.ide

The Philosophy of Leibniz:

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was a German rationalist philosopher who lived from 1646 to 1716. He is known for his contributions in the fields of metaphysics, mathematics, ethics, theology, and more. He believed that the universe consisted of just God and all other things were immaterial entities, which he called monads. He argued that all events occurred because God had meant them to occur as such to maintain a pre-established harmony. According to Leibniz, the world we live in is the perfect world-- “the best of all possible worlds.”  This was the idea Voltaire alluded to and made fun of in Candide. He 3

disagreed with the way Leibniz explained all suffering in the world through divine justification.   In 4

Candide, the character Pangloss represented Leibniz and his philosophy. In the very beginning, Voltaire makes fun of the very idea of metaphysics by calling it “metaphysico-theologo-cosmolo-nigology.” He further parodies this by explaining cause and effect as follows:

"'Observe that noses were made to wear spectacles; and so we have spectacles. Legs were visibly instituted to be breeched, and we have breeches. Stones were formed to be quarried and to build castles; and My Lord has a very noble castle; the greatest Baron in the province should have the best house; and as pigs were made to be eaten, we eat pork all year round; consequently, those who have asserted all is well talk nonsense; they ought to have said that all is for the best.'" (Candide, Chapter 1)

The Peru and Lisbon Earthquakes:

In 1746, an earthquake occurred in in Peru.  It remained Peru's most destructive earthquake until the 1970 Earthquake.  The cities of Lima, Callao, and most of the central Peruvian coast were destroyed.  Soon after, Callao and other port cities in Peru were further damaged by a tsunami that

followed the earthquake.  The fatalities exceeded 4000 people.  5

Only a few year later, in 1755, there was another earthquake in Lisbon, Portugal, whose effects were felt

all over Europe, including Spain, France, Switzerland, and Italy, as well as North Africa.   In Lisbon 6

alone, the death toll was around 60,000 people.  The earthquake struck on November 1, All Saints' Day, which meant the many worshippers who were at mass were killed or hurt because many of the old

church buildings collapsed more easily than other structures.7

These earthquakes, along with the Seven Years' War in 1756 and the execution of John Byng, an English Admiral, in 1756, led Voltaire to question and subsequently write about divine justification and the idea of Optimism that everyone seemed to be turning to.  

He first wrote a poem in response to the Lisbon earthquake, entitled  Poeme sur le desastre de Lisbonne(or Unlike the majority of his work, the poem holds a much darker and Poem on the Lisbon Disaster).  more somber tone, as is evident in the following excerpt that speaks to optimistic philosophers:

Come philosophers who cry, “All is well,”And contemplate the ruins of this world.Behold the debris and ashes of the unfortunate—

These women and children heaped in common ruin,

 

 

 

Initial copy of Candide, published without Voltaire's name:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pangloss's philosophy, from chapter 1:

"Pangloss gave instruction in metaphysico-theologico-cosmolo-nigology. He proved admirably that there cannot possibly be an effect without a cause and that in this best of all possible worlds the baron’s castle was the most beautiful of all castles and his wife the best of all possible baronesses. —It is clear, said he, that things cannot be otherwise than they are, for since everything is made to serve an end, everything necessarily serves the best end."

These scattered limbs under the broken marble.See the hundred thousand whom the earth devours! 

Later, Voltaire also inserted the Lisbon earthquake into Candide. When Candide and Pangloss arrive at Lisbon, the philosopher says what Leibniz would have said: "All this is for the very best end, for if there is a volcano at Lisbon, it could be in no other spot; and it is impossible but things should be as they are, for everything is for the best."  Thereafter, the University of Coimbra in Lisbon decides "that the burning of a few people alive by a slow fire, and with great ceremony, is an infallible secret to prevent earthquakes."  Thus, they decided to end more lives in order to atone for whatever sins that had caused the previous earthquake.  Again, Voltaire makes fun of the common thinking at that time that everything had happened for a reason, and in this case, as a punishment to wrongdoers.  

 

Plot SummaryIn the beginning of the novel, the eponymous character is living in the home of Baron Thunder-ten-tronckh, where he has grown up alongside the Baron’s son and his daughter, Lady Cunégonde.  He is described as an innocent young man who adheres to the optimistic belief of his tutor Dr. Pangloss that everything happens for the best purpose.  This belief is first challenged when upon being caught kissing Cunégonde, Candide is kicked out of the house. 

Thus follows a series of adventures and misadventures.  First, he ends up in the Bulgars, where he finds himself on the verge of being executed for no apparent reason.  Upon fleeing to Holland, he is taken in and given a job by James, an Anabaptist.  Here, he again encounters Pangloss, who is now homeless and dying of Syphilis.  From Pangloss, Candide learns that Cunégonde and her family have all been killed by the Bulgars.  

While traveling to Lisbon, Candide, Jacques (James, in some translations of the book), and Pangloss encounter a storm, in which Jacques dies.  They drift to shore, where an earthquake (the 1755 Lisbon earthquake) occurs, Pangloss is hanged for speaking like a heretic, and Candide is flogged.

Candide then meets an old woman who leads him to Cunégonde, who it seems is still alive and well.  The three are forced to flee to Argentina after Candide kills a Jew and the Grand Inquisitor of Lisbon, with whom Cunégonde had been living.  

Portuguese authorities arrive in search of Candide who is then forced to flee with a new companion Cacambo.  He encounter’s Cunégonde’s brother, who had also survived the attack by the Bulgars, but after an argument regarding Candide’s plans to marry Cunégonde, Candide kills the Baron.

The two, Candide and Cacambo, continue to travel and arrive in Eldorado, a Utopian country where everyone is equal, money is abundant, everyone has the same religious beliefs, and there is no need for courts because there are no conflicts.  Candide, whose optimistic beliefs have continued to be challenged, figures that if there is a place where Pangloss’s philosophy is true, then it must be Eldorado.  But not wanting to stay away from Cunégonde, Candide decides that they should leave Eldorado and he sends Cacambo to go back to Buenos Aires to get the girl.  

With his new companion and philosopher, Martin, whose pessimistic ideas are quite the opposite of Pangloss’s, Candide travels to Paris and then to Venice, where he has instructed Cacambo to meet him upon finding Cunégonde. 

He reunites with Cunégonde, who he points out is no longer pretty, and the old woman.  It turns out that Pangloss and the Baron too are miraculously still alive.  The group (excluding the Baron, who Candide sends back to a Turkish gang so that he does not get in the way of his sister’s wedding to Candide) end up buying a farm outside of Constantinople, where they ultimately end up cultivating a garden. 

Major Characters 

Candide: Candide, the main character and an innocent young man, who does not really think for himself, ascribing instead to everything his friend Pangloss says.  He grows up in the process of the novel and as he faces so many challenges and absurd situations, he begins to think for himself, deciding in the end that they must cultivate a garden.

Lady Cunégonde: The daughter of the Baron where Candide grew up. Candide falls in love with the beauty and innocence of the girl.  After being kicked out for kissing her, Candide continues to think about her as he goes on his various adventures.  When he finds out that she has in fact not died, then he decides that he must marry her.  Because of her, he also ends up killing two men who owned her and stabbing her brother who does not approve of such a marriage (though he ends up surviving the injury).  Though Candide ultimately marries her, she is no longer the pretty and innocent girl he had fallen in love with.  

Engraving by Moreau the younger for the 1787 edition of Candide. This one depicts the beginning scene when the Baron catches Candide kissing his daughter.

 

Pangloss: Dr. Pangloss is Candide's teacher growing up and also the reason behind Candide's optimism regarding cause and effect in the world. Repeatedly throughout the adventures of Candide, Candide questions Pangloss about whether he still believes in his philosophy, to which the philosopher adheres, even at the end when he says that he might no longer agree with it, but he will still maintain it for it is imprudent for a philosopher to take back his ideas.  Even when Pangloss is presumed dead, Candide constantly wonders what his tutor would have thought about a certain issue.  Besides criticizing Pangloss's philosophy, Voltaire seems to be criticizing philosophy in general, suggesting at the end that spending so much time on the theory of living takes time away from actual living.

 

Analysis of Themes 

Problems with Optimism:   The main theme of the novel is Dr. Pangloss's philosophy that this is the perfect world where all negative things happen for a good reason.  Voltaire wishes to shed light on the problems with this idea.  Candide, for instance, who naïvely believes this realizes in the course of the novel that this may not be true.  Throughout the novel, Pangloss makes many absurd statements to justify events.  In the end, even he admits that he no longer believes in his own ideas that he had taught Candide.  However, he continues to promote them because a philosopher, according to him, should not change his views.

Problems with Philosophy:  Though it is Pangloss's specific idea that is criticized, it is also apparent that instead of spending time theorizing about the world, it is better to actually live.  This is most obvious in the portrayals of Dr. Pangloss, the lead philosopher in the novella, who is often questioned by Candide for his ideas and beliefs.  

Greed of Human Beings:  Voltaire also touches upon man's attachment to money and how this results in violence and conflict.  There seems to be a general idea that humans put a higher value on money than anything else, believing that money will solve their problems.  Candide too seems to believe this.  For instance, he believes that giving money to unhappy people will solve their problems.  But as Martin the pessimist points out, it will only make things worse, which is exactly what happens.  Moreover, when Candide's money is stolen, he is devastated.  His belief in Pangloss's optimism wavers more so than ever, which suggests that money may be most important to him, even more than life and health.  In the utopian country of Eldorado, we see that no one cares much for money because there is an abundance of it.  There is no greed and no need for money.  This is one of the reasons that there is no conflict and thus no need for a court system in Eldorado.  

Problems with religion: Voltaire also satirizes organized religion by comparing Eldorado's faith in one god with the many belief systems that pervade the world outside of Eldorado.  We also see a clear instance of hypocrisy in religion when the orator in Holland, despite giving a lecture on charity, refuses to help Candide because of his statement that he does not care whether or not the Pope is Anti-Christ. 

Love and the Role of Women: Candide's misfortunes begin upon being caught kissing a women.  Upon being kicked out, he says:

“Alas!” said Candide, “I know this love, that sovereign of hearts, that soul of our souls; yet it never cost me more than a kiss and twenty kicks on the backside. How could this beautiful cause produce in you an effect so abominable?” ( Chapter 1)Candide, 

In the rest of the novella, everywhere Candide goes and everything that happens to him is a result of his love for Cunégonde.  Additionally, Pangloss's syphilis too is a result of his interaction with a woman.  Women thus symbolize man's desire, which ultimately results in trouble.  Candide's love for Cunégonde ends up resulting in a series of violent acts committed by Candide, from killing her Jewish lover to stabbing her brother.  8

Reception

Candide was initially published anonymously (under the pseudonym Dr. Ralph) in five different countries.9

 It was six weeks later in 1759 that the author’s identity became known when the book was published in England by a London publisher.  While many critics and religious officials condemned the work and the police force was ordered to seize all copies of the novel, was enjoyed and loved by the general Candidepublic.  

For instance, phrases from the book, particularly “Let us eat the Jesuit,” became catchphrases immediately.  However, these same ideas—this satirical view of government, religion, human beings, and philosophy—led to its ban soon after it was released.  It was banned by the Great Council of Geneva in the very year that it came out, and yet it became a best-seller that year.  10

Adaptations: Bernstein's Operetta

Eldorado on a 1647 Dutch Map of the Amazon

Excerpt regarding Eldorado's religion:

 

'Cacambo humbly asked, “What was the religion in El Dorado?”

The old man reddened again.

“Can there be two religions?” said he. “We have, I believe, the religion of all the world: we worship God night and morning.”

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In 1953, Leonard Bernstein decided to bring Candide to the theater.  Three years later, the production opened in New York's Martin Beck Theater.  Reviews were mixed, but mostly unenthusiastic.  Over the next few years, the operetta continued to be produced in cities throughout the Western world, and today, it is met with much more enthusiasm than in its first few years.  11

Candide and its Influences In Other Literature

 Le voyage de Candide à Istanbul, a novel written by Turkish author Nedim Gürsel in 2001, revolves around the scene in where Candide meets the Turkish sultan Ahmed III on his way to Istanbul Candide, from Venice.  12

Emily Habiby's 2001 satire  is an Arabic social commentary The Secret Life of Saeed the Pessoptimist inspired by . The main character is both a pessimist and an optimist, with a similar philosophy to Candidethe one portrayed in  in that he believes that no matter what disaster he faces, he has averted Candide,an even bigger one.13

Interestingly, Candide's popularity was such that it was already being alluded to in contemporary novels.  Laurence Sterne's The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy came out a few months after Candide.  In its very first chapter, the book alludes to Candide, saying:  "Bright Goddess, If thou art not too

busy with Candid and Miss Cunegund's affairs,—take Tristram Shandy's under thy protection also."14

References 

 SparkNotes. SparkNotes. Web. 8 May 2015. http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/candide/context.html"Candide."  . N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2015. <Literature Guide https://www.teachervision.com

>./literature/resource/4432.html"Gottfried Leibniz: Metaphysics." 8 May 2014. www.iep.utm.edu/leib-met/"Leibniz and Voltaire’s Candide" 8 May 2014. kprudchenko.wordpress.com/2012/10/22/Leibniz-and-voltaires-candide/"Historical Tsunamis." 8 May 2014. http://www.usc.edu/dept/tsunamis/peru/ptsu_hist.html "Historical Depictions of the 1755." Lisbon Earthquake National Information Service for

 http://nisee.berkeley.edu/lisbon/Earthquake Engineering"Lisbon Earthquake of 1755." . Britannica http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1421131/Lisbon-earthquake-of-1755"Candide: Themes." LitCharts. http://www.litcharts.com/lit/candide/themesZavaliy, Andrei G. "Voltaire: Candide." 8 May 2014. https://www.milestonedocuments.com/documents/view/voltaire-candide"The Hunger Games Reaches Another Milestone: Top 10 Censored Books." TIME. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2015. <http://entertainment.time.com/2011/01/06/removing-the-n-word-from-huck-

>.finn-top-10-censored-books/slide/candide/"Candide." Leonard Bernstein. http://www.leonardbernstein.com/candide.htm"Nedim Gursel. Le voyage de Candide a Istanbul." The Free Library.  8 May 2014. http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Nedim+Gursel.+Le+voyage+de+Candide+a+Istanbul.-a098644107"The Secret Life of Saeed the Pessoptimist, by Emile Habiby" 8 May 2014. http://avanti08.blogspot.com/2009/01/secret-life-of-saeed-pessoptimist-by.htmlHumanities 12 Spring 2015 Lecture Notes on Candide

 

 

 

 

 

 

 “Do you worship but one God?” said Cacambo, who still acted as interpreter in representing Candide’s doubts.

“Surely,” said the old man, “there are not two, nor three, nor four. I must confess the people from your side of the world ask very extraordinary questions.”'