Voltaire was a very cynical satirist who lived in eighteenth century France. While in exile for critiquing the French Church, he stayed in England who was, at that time, several years ahead of France in regards to social evolution. Here, he witnessed a different government and a different society. Upon his return to France, he realized how different society was. At this time, enlightened thought was in line with optimistic thought. One of the most profound philosophers was the creator of this theory of optimism, G.W. von Leibniz. Leibniz claimed that everything that happened was always for the best and that there was no other way it could have happened. Though most enlightenment writers believed in this view, Voltaire did not. Thus, he set out to write Candide, which would become one of the most lasting and most influential satires ever written, even after the society it was written for had died off. In the book, Voltaire is criticizing the enlightenment philosophy of optimism, corrupt and outdated institutions, and the hypocrisy of people in general.
In the book, Candide starts off as an ignorant boy in Westphalia, who is taught by Dr. Pangloss that everything that happens is for the best and that it could not happen any other way. It is quite apparent that Dr. Pangloss represents Leibniz. Thus, Candide believes in this optimistic theory and goes through the whole book trying to believe this thought. Here, he falls in love with the Barons daughter Cungonde. One night, he is found kissing her and is promptly exiled because he is not of high enough class. This starts a chain of events that really show the backwards society that Candide (and Voltaire) lived in. Throughout the book, Candide goes through a battle, an earthquake, a gauntlet of 2,000 men, a thrashing, a murder, and several other misfortunes. After each incident, he foolishly thinks that this is all for the best and was meant to happen. Voltaire uses these unbelievable events to show that optimism is a foolish thing to believe in. As time goes on and Candide moves on through all of this, he becomes a little less confident in Panglosss opinion. Candide starts to believe in Panglosss opinion when he stumbles upon the city of El Dorado. El Dorado is a place that has remained untouched by European civilization. Theres gold and treasure everywhere and the civilization is tolerant of others, rationally thinking, and free. Thus, Candide thinks that all the misfortunes that have happened to them have led up to this point of happiness. However, he decides to leave this paradise in search of Cungonde. After staying in the mythical city of El Dorado and picking up enough treasure to make his extremely wealthy, eight of the ten sheep carrying the treasure die in the desert and the other two are stolen by a ships captain. This shows how perhaps Panglosss view may be faulty. Around this time, Candide gets a new servant named Martin (Voltaire 90). Martin is very pessimistic and engages in plenty of discussions refusing to believe the optimistic point of view and that everything happens for the best. This represents the turning point in the story, for now Candide is realizing that there is a difference between Panglosss theoretical look at life and Martins real world view, which is just as bad because nothing can be changed with constant pessimism. Voltaire is showing the uselessness of theoretical philosophies, because they do not work in the real world. Thus, in this way, Voltaire is refuting Leibnitzs theory of optimism.
There are several points that Voltaire makes in regards to the hypocrisy of organized religion. In the novel, there is a catholic inquisitor who keeps a mistress (who just so happens to be Candides Cungonde). Also, the pope has a daughter, which goes against the celibacy that priests are supposed to maintain. The inhumanity of the clergy, most notably the Inquisitor, in hanging and executing his fellow citizens over philosophical differences itself shows that ironically, the leaders of the moral are actually the ones causing death and pain and are responsible for the least humane scenes in the text. Moreover, the inquisitor orders the flogging of Candide for merely, listening with an air of approval which is thus proof that Candide is somehow implicit in blasphemy (Voltaire 36). Most ironically, the Church officials are depicted as being among the most sinful of all citizens; having mistresses, engaging in homosexual affairs, and operating as jewel thieves. Also, the Inquisition hangs Pangloss and beat Voltaire merely because Pangloss said something that went against the Church (or at least thats how the Church viewed it). Thus, it is this organized religion that Voltaire claims is holding back French society, because the Catholic Church rejects new ideas and is slow to make progress. This idea is shared by Thomas Paine in his work, The Age of Reason (Perry 63). In this piece, Paine is in favor of natural religion instead of the suffocating religion at the time. In a sense, Paine and Voltaire are both against the institution of Religion (whether is be Catholic, Protestant, or something else), not actual religion. They both believe in God and believe that God gave humans the ability to control their own destiny and to use their God-given talents to enhance society and to be reasonable.
Another aspect of society that Voltaire analyzes with this novel is the corruption of power and money and how money doesnt buy happiness. Towards the end of the novel, Candide meets six kings at the inn he is staying at. Each of them has been overthrown or exiled from their kingdoms. Thus, with all the money and power they had and the fortunes they still had, they were miserable. However, at the end of the novel, Candide meets a farmer who claims to be happy (Voltaire 143). He claims that the key to happiness is hard work and does not come from money. Candide buys his own small farm and, with the help of the other characters, he makes a modest living on his farm and works hard every day. This hard work pays off, as he is eventually happy. This shows that there is no right philosophy towards life. Pangloss tells Candide that this is the best of all possible worlds, that everything Candide went through was to get to this point in his life. Yet, Candide realizes that whatever happens, he can make it happen through hard work and perseverance.
This novel showed how some enlightened ideas are unproductive and false. One of those ideas, once again, is the optimistic opinion shared by many people during this time. Voltaire is not exactly a pessimist. He is a realist. The optimistic opinion that Leibnitz formed, in Voltaires eyes, was unrealistic. Voltaire believed that man is in control of his own destiny basically. In the novel, Cacambo, one of Candides servants, is a very intelligent, experienced person who is learned in many languages and is very practical. He helps Candide escape several predicaments and is trusted to bring Cungonde to Italy (Voltaire 84). However, he does not do this by being optimistic, nor pessimistic. He creates his own escapes from situations and is a positive character to Candide. Thus, it is shown that if one takes control of a situation, then the outcome will be in ones favor. With this, Voltaire is showing that people should think for themselves and to take control of their situations. At the end, Pangloss starts to claim that everything that has happened has been for the best because now they are relatively happy and that this was indeed the best of all possible worlds. In response, Candide says Thats true enough but we must go and work in the garden. This shows that while theory and talking about optimism is fine, one must work hard in order to make a livable life for oneself.
Another attitude that Voltaire examines is the attitude towards women. In the novel, the three main women that are mentioned Cungonde, the old woman, and Paquetteall get raped and sold into sexual slavery. Thus, Voltaire is showing that society really has not developed fully, since women at the time are still viewed upon as objects. Though men seem to be obsessed with pureness in women, they dont think twice upon taking it away, making it impossible for a women to remain pure.
In the end, the overall theme of Candide is that people control their destiny. It is not enough to follow Leibnitz (or Pangloss) and merely take things as they come and claim that whatever happens is for the best and that it could not happen any other way. Voltaire believes that humans can control their environment and achieve happiness through hard work, as Candide did eventually. Not only this, but Candide showed the hypocrisy and the wrongs of society through irony and extreme situations. By doing this, Voltaire effectively counters Leibnitz and faults the overall French enlightened society.
Perry, Marvin, Joseph R. Peden, and Theodore H. Von Laue. Sources fof the Western Tradition. 5th ed. Vol. 2. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003.
Voltaire. Candide Or Optimism (Penguin Classics). New York: Penguin Classics, 1950.
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