Candide by Voltaire
"Candide," written by Voltaire, is a satirical novella that follows the misadventures of its titular character, Candide, who is the illegitimate son of a baron. Initially raised in a sheltered environment in Westphalia, Candide's life takes a tumultuous turn when he is expelled from his home after a kiss with Cunegonde, the baron's daughter. The narrative chronicles Candide's journey across various countries, including his experiences in war, natural disasters, and encounters with a diverse cast of characters, including his tutor Dr. Pangloss, who espouses the philosophy that "this is the best of all possible worlds."
Throughout the story, Candide faces a series of hardships that challenge Pangloss's optimistic worldview, including shipwrecks, imprisonment, and violence. Despite these trials, the tale weaves themes of love, resilience, and the quest for happiness. Ultimately, after numerous misfortunes and a quest to reunite with Cunegonde, Candide concludes that the best approach to life is to "cultivate one's garden," suggesting a focus on practical work and personal responsibility rather than philosophical speculation. This thought-provoking work raises questions about optimism, suffering, and the human condition, making it a significant commentary on Enlightenment thought.
Candide by Voltaire
First published:Candide: Ou, L’Optimisme, 1759 (Candide: Or, All for the Best, 1759)
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Social satire
Time of plot: Eighteenth century
Locale: Europe and South America
Principal characters
Candide , Baroness Thunder-ten-tronckh’s illegitimate sonMademoiselle Cunegonde , Baron Thunder-ten-tronckh’s daughterPangloss , Candide’s friend and tutorCacambo , Candide’s servant
The Story
Candide, the illegitimate son of Baron Thunder-ten-tronckh’s sister, is born in Westphalia. Dr. Pangloss, his tutor and a devout follower of Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibnitz, teaches him metaphysico-theologo-cosmolonigology and assures his pupil that this is the best of all possible worlds. Cunegonde, the daughter of the baron, kisses Candide one day behind a screen, whereupon Candide is expelled from the noble baron’s household.
Impressed into the army of the king of Bulgaria, Candide deserts during a battle between the king of Bulgaria and the king of Abares. Later, he is befriended by James the Anabaptist. He also meets his old friend, Dr. Pangloss, now a beggar. James, Pangloss, and Candide start for Lisbon. Their ship is wrecked in a storm off the coast of Portugal. James is drowned, but Candide and Pangloss swim to shore just as an earthquake shakes the city. The rulers of Lisbon, both secular and religious, decide to punish the people whose wickedness brings about the earthquake, and Candide and Pangloss are among the accused. Pangloss is hanged, and Candide is thoroughly whipped.
He is still smarting from his wounds when an old woman accosts Candide and tells him to have courage and to follow her. She leads him to a house where he is fed and clothed. Then Cunegonde appears. Candide is amazed because Pangloss told him that Cunegonde is dead. Cunegonde relates what happened to her since she last saw Candide. She is being kept by a Jew and an Inquisitor, but she holds both men at a distance. Candide kills the Jew and the Inquisitor when they come to see her.
Together with the old woman, Cunegonde and Candide flee to Cadiz, where they are robbed. In despair, they sail for Paraguay, where Candide hopes to enlist in the Spanish army then fighting the rebellious Jesuits. During the voyage, the old woman tells her story. They learn that she is the daughter of Pope Urban X and the princess of Palestrina.
The governor of Buenos Aires develops a great affection for Cunegonde and causes Candide to be accused of having committed robbery while still in Spain. Candide flees with his servant, Cacambo; Cunegonde and the old woman remain behind. When Candide decides to fight for the Jesuits, he learns that the commandant is Cunegonde’s brother. The brother will not hear of his sister's marriage to Candide. They quarrel, and Candide, fearing that he killed the brother, takes to the road with Cacambo once more. Shortly afterward, they are captured by the Oreillons, a tribe of savage Indians, but when Cacambo proves they are not Jesuits, the two are released. They travel on to Eldorado. There life is simple and perfect, but Candide is not happy because he misses Cunegonde.
At last he decides to take some of the useless jeweled pebbles and golden mud of Eldorado and return to Buenos Aires to search for Cunegonde. He and Cacambo start out with a hundred sheep laden with riches, but they lose all but two sheep. When Candide approaches a Dutch merchant and tries to arrange passage to Buenos Aires, the merchant sails away with all his money and treasures, leaving him behind. Cacambo then goes to Buenos Aires to find Cunegonde and take her to Venice to meet Candide. After many adventures, including a sea fight and the miraculous recovery of one of his lost sheep from a sinking ship, Candide arrives at Bordeaux. His intention is to go to Venice by way of Paris. Police arrest him in Paris, however, and Candide is forced to buy his freedom with diamonds. Later, he sails on a Dutch ship to Portsmouth, England, where he witnesses the execution of an English admiral. From Portsmouth he goes to Venice. There he finds no Cacambo and no Cunegonde. He does, however, meet Paquette, Cunegonde’s waiting maid. Shortly afterward, Candide encounters Cacambo, who is now a slave and who informs him that Cunegonde is in Constantinople. In the Venetian galley that carries them to Constantinople, Candide finds Pangloss and Cunegonde’s brother among the galley slaves. Pangloss relates that he miraculously escaped from his hanging in Lisbon because the bungling hangman was not able to tie a proper knot. Cunegonde’s brother tells how he survived the wound that Candide thought fatal. Candide buys both men from the Venetians and gives them their freedom.
When the group arrives at Constantinople, Candide buys the old woman and Cunegonde from their masters and also purchases a little farm to which they all retire. There each has his or her own particular work to do. Candide decides that the best thing in the world is to cultivate one’s garden.
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