Candide - Voltaire

Summary

Candide is a satirical picaresque novel by Voltaire, following the misadventures of its naive protagonist, Candide. Raised in the castle of Baron Thunder-ten-tronckh in Westphalia, Candide is indoctrinated by his tutor, Dr. Pangloss, into the philosophy of "optimism," which asserts that "all is for the best in this best of all possible worlds." His idyllic life is shattered when he is caught kissing Cunégonde, the Baron's daughter, and is expelled.

Candide's subsequent journey across the world exposes him to a relentless series of calamities: war, earthquakes, piracy, slavery, religious persecution, and human cruelty. He repeatedly encounters his mentor Pangloss and his beloved Cunégonde, both of whom miraculously survive extreme misfortunes, though often in disfigured or impoverished states. Each encounter further challenges Pangloss's optimistic philosophy, as Candide witnesses firsthand the pervasive evil and suffering in the world.

From the horrors of war in Bulgaria, the destruction of the Lisbon earthquake, the utopia of El Dorado, the brutality of Surinam, and the cynicism of Parisian society, Candide experiences a spectrum of human experience. He gathers a motley crew of fellow sufferers, including the old woman, his servant Cacambo, and the pessimistic scholar Martin. Eventually, disillusioned by his search for happiness and wealth, Candide, Cunégonde, Pangloss, and their companions settle on a small farm near Constantinople. The novel concludes with Candide's rejection of abstract philosophical speculation in favor of practical work and cultivating one's own garden, a pragmatic embrace of limited happiness and self-sufficiency.

Book Sections

Section 1

Candide lives a sheltered life in the castle of Baron Thunder-ten-tronckh in Westphalia. He is a young man of simple mind and pure heart. His tutor, Dr. Pangloss, teaches him "metaphysico-theologo-cosmolonigology," a philosophy of optimism based on Leibniz, asserting that "all is for the best in this best of all possible worlds." Candide falls in love with Cunégonde, the Baron's beautiful daughter. One day, while observing Pangloss and the chambermaid Paquette, Candide is inspired to kiss Cunégonde, an act that leads to his immediate expulsion from the castle by the Baron.

He is then conscripted into the Bulgarian army, where he experiences the brutal reality of war and flees. He witnesses a horrific battle between the Bulgarians and the Abares, filled with atrocities. He eventually escapes to Holland.

Character	Characteristics	Motivations
Candide	Naive, innocent, optimistic (initially), kind-hearted, easily influenced.	To find love (Cunégonde), to understand the world, to be happy.
Dr. Pangloss	Philosopher, optimist (dogmatically), orator, often self-contradictory.	To spread his philosophy of "optimism," to explain all events as "best."
Cunégonde	Beautiful, initially innocent, becomes hardened and disfigured by suffering.	To be with Candide, to survive, to reclaim her former status.
Baron Thunder-ten-tronckh	Proud, aristocratic, concerned with lineage.	To maintain social status and family honor.
Baroness Thunder-ten-tronckh	Large, imposing, a woman of rank.	To maintain social status.
Jesuit Baron (young Baron)	Son of the Baron, proud of his noble lineage.	To maintain his aristocratic status.

Section 2

In Holland, Candide, starving and destitute, meets Anabaptist Jacques, who takes him in, feeds him, and offers him work. Candide soon encounters a diseased beggar who turns out to be Dr. Pangloss, still alive but horribly disfigured by syphilis. Pangloss recounts the destruction of the Baron's castle, the rape and murder of Cunégonde, and his own infection. Despite all this, Pangloss still insists that it was all "for the best." Jacques, Pangloss, and Candide decide to sail to Lisbon. During the voyage, a terrible storm hits, and Jacques drowns trying to save a sailor. Pangloss prevents Candide from saving Jacques, arguing it was "for the best" that the bay was a harbor for ships.

Upon arrival in Lisbon, they experience a devastating earthquake. The local authorities decide to hold an auto-da-fé (act of faith) to prevent further calamities. Pangloss and Candide are arrested by the Inquisition due to Pangloss's controversial philosophical ideas. Pangloss is hanged, and Candide is brutally flogged. Another old man (actually Pangloss) is burned alive.

Character	Characteristics	Motivations
Jacques	Kind, compassionate, practical, Anabaptist.	To help others, to live according to his faith.

Section 3

After the auto-da-fé, an old woman tends to Candide's wounds and brings him to a house where he finds Cunégonde, miraculously alive. Cunégonde recounts her horrifying experiences: she was raped and disemboweled by a Bulgarian soldier, nursed back to health by a captain, became a servant, and was eventually sold to a Jew, Don Issachar, and then shared with the Grand Inquisitor of Lisbon. Candide, enraged, kills both Don Issachar and the Grand Inquisitor. Fearing retribution, Candide, Cunégonde, and the Old Woman flee.

Character	Characteristics	Motivations
Old Woman	Cynical, practical, resilient, wise from vast experience and suffering (e.g., losing one buttock).	To survive, to guide and protect Candide and Cunégonde.
Grand Inquisitor	Religious authority, hypocritical, powerful, sexually exploitative.	To maintain power, to satisfy personal desires, to enforce religious dogma.
Don Issachar	Wealthy Jew, lustful, exploitative.	To accumulate wealth, to satisfy personal desires.

Section 4

The trio escapes to Cadiz and then embarks on a ship to Buenos Aires. During the voyage, the Old Woman tells her own tragic story, a tale of noble birth, betrayal, slavery, cannibalism, and extreme misfortune, including having one of her buttocks eaten by Janissaries during a siege. She concludes that her suffering far outweighs Cunégonde's.

In Buenos Aires, the Governor falls in love with Cunégonde and proposes marriage. However, Candide is recognized as the murderer of the Grand Inquisitor by an alcalde who had accompanied them. The Old Woman advises Candide to flee, leaving Cunégonde with the Governor. Candide escapes with his new Valet, Cacambo, to Paraguay, joining the Jesuit army. There, he discovers that the Jesuit commander is Cunégonde's brother, the young Baron, who surprisingly survived the attack on his castle. The Baron, still proud of his noble lineage, refuses to let Candide marry Cunégonde, deeming him unworthy. In a fit of anger, Candide stabs the Baron with his sword, believing he has killed him. He and Cacambo flee, stealing a Jesuit habit.

Character	Characteristics	Motivations
Cacambo	Loyal, resourceful, intelligent, practical, fluent in many languages.	To serve Candide, to survive, to find opportunity.

Section 5

Candide and Cacambo travel through the wilderness and accidentally stumble upon the utopian land of El Dorado. This hidden kingdom is isolated from the rest of the world, free from greed, war, and religious strife. Gold and precious stones are common pavement, used only for building materials, not for currency. The inhabitants are polite, rational, and technologically advanced. Candide and Cacambo are treated with kindness and generosity by the King and his people. Despite finding immense wealth and perfect peace, Candide longs for Cunégonde and decides to leave El Dorado, taking two sheep laden with precious stones, believing this wealth will secure his marriage to Cunégonde and their happiness. The King of El Dorado tries to dissuade them, but respects their decision, providing a magnificent machine to transport them out of the country.

Character	Characteristics	Motivations
King of El Dorado	Wise, benevolent, philosophical, just ruler of a perfect society.	To maintain the peace and prosperity of his kingdom.

Section 6

Candide and Cacambo travel to Surinam. Along the way, they encounter a black slave, horribly disfigured, who explains he was brutally mutilated for attempting to escape and for losing a finger in a mill accident. This horrific sight utterly shatters Candide's lingering optimism. In Surinam, Candide attempts to hire a ship to rescue Cunégonde from Buenos Aires. He is swindled by a Dutch merchant named Vanderdendur, who steals his sheep and precious stones. Candide, now completely disillusioned, sends Cacambo to buy Cunégonde, giving him the last of his jewels.

Overwhelmed by despair, Candide seeks a companion, a man who is the most unhappy and disgusted with the world. He chooses Martin, a pessimistic scholar who believes the world is inherently evil and full of suffering. They embark on a ship to France.

Character	Characteristics	Motivations
The Negro (Surinam Slave)	Victim of extreme cruelty, symbolic representation of colonial exploitation.	To survive, to escape his bondage (initially), to express his suffering.
Vanderdendur	Dishonest, greedy, exploitative Dutch merchant.	To acquire wealth through deceit.
Martin	Pessimistic, cynical, Manichaean (believes in a dualistic world of good and evil).	To prove his philosophy of inherent human evil and universal suffering.

Section 7

Candide and Martin travel to France. Candide is robbed and tricked in Paris by an unscrupulous Abbé and a Marquise, losing more of his money. He becomes sick and is treated by doctors who only worsen his condition. He witnesses the superficiality, hypocrisy, and intellectual pretension of Parisian society. They eventually sail for Venice.

On the journey, they witness an English admiral being executed for not killing enough enemy soldiers, a satirical jab at military protocol. In Venice, Candide hopes to reunite with Cunégonde and Cacambo. Instead, he meets Paquette, the chambermaid from Westphalia, now a prostitute, and her lover, Friar Giroflée, a miserable and disillusioned monk. Candide helps them, but they remain unhappy. Later, Candide and Martin dine with six dethroned kings, a symbol of the arbitrary nature of power and fortune. Candide then meets Lord Pococurante, a wealthy Venetian nobleman who is bored by all his possessions and accomplishments, finding no joy in anything, demonstrating the futility of material wealth.

Character	Characteristics	Motivations
Abbé of Périgord	Hypocritical, deceptive, opportunistic clergyman.	To exploit Candide for money.
Marquis of P*	Superficial, flirtatious, opportunistic noblewoman.	To exploit Candide for money and amusement.
Paquette	Former chambermaid, now a prostitute, perpetually unhappy.	To survive, to find some semblance of happiness (unsuccessfully).
Friar Giroflée	Miserable monk, lover of Paquette, disillusioned with his life.	To escape his monastic vows, to find happiness (unsuccessfully).
Lord Pococurante	Wealthy, refined, but utterly jaded and bored by everything he owns.	To find intellectual stimulation and pleasure (he fails at this).
Six Dethroned Kings	Former rulers, now exiled and impoverished, symbolizing fate's whims.	To survive, to lament their past glories.

Section 8

Candide finally reunites with Cacambo in Constantinople. Cacambo reveals that Cunégonde is now an ugly, disfigured slave on the banks of the Propontis, forced into servitude due to poverty. He also tells Candide that Pangloss and the Baron are miraculously alive, having survived their supposed executions. Pangloss was poorly hanged, revived, and became a galley slave. The Baron, after being stabbed by Candide, was healed and also became a galley slave.

Candide, though horrified by Cunégonde's appearance, buys her freedom, along with that of Pangloss and the Baron. The Baron again refuses to allow Candide to marry his sister, leading Candide to have him returned to the galleys. The group, now including Candide, Cunégonde, Pangloss, Martin, Cacambo, and the Old Woman, settle on a small farm near Constantinople. Pangloss continues to philosophize, and Martin maintains his pessimism.

Disillusioned by their endless philosophical debates and their continued unhappiness, Candide seeks advice from a wise Dervish, who dismisses philosophical inquiry as irrelevant. He then visits a hardworking Turkish farmer who, unconcerned with the outside world, finds contentment in cultivating his small piece of land. Inspired by this example, Candide buys the farm, and the group dedicates themselves to practical labor. They find a measure of happiness and purpose in "cultivating their garden," a metaphor for focusing on immediate, tangible work and ignoring abstract, unanswerable questions. Even Pangloss admits that "all events are linked in this best of all possible worlds; for if you had not been expelled from a beautiful castle by a kick in the backside for loving Mademoiselle Cunégonde, if you had not been put into the Inquisition, if you had not walked across America, if you had not struck the Baron with your sword, if you had not lost all your sheep from the good land of El Dorado, you would not be here eating candied citrons and pistachios." Candide responds with the famous line, "That is well said, but we must cultivate our garden."

Character	Characteristics	Motivations
Dervish	Wise, ascetic, dismissive of abstract philosophy.	To live a simple, spiritual life, to avoid pointless speculation.
Turkish Farmer	Simple, hardworking, pragmatic, content with his lot.	To work his land, to provide for his family, to avoid worldly strife.

Literary Genre

Philosophical novel, Satire, Picaresque novel, Novella.

Author Facts

• Voltaire (François-Marie Arouet) (1699-1778) was a prominent figure of the French Enlightenment.
• He was a prolific writer, producing works in nearly every literary form, including plays, poems, novels, essays, historical and scientific works, and more than 20,000 letters.
• He was a fierce advocate for civil liberties, including freedom of religion and free trade. He was a vocal critic of the Catholic Church and the French monarchy.
• Voltaire was exiled from Paris multiple times for his provocative writings and satirical critiques of the powerful.
• He spent significant time in England, which heavily influenced his ideas on political freedom and empiricism.
• He famously ended his letters with "Écrasez l'infâme!" ("Crush the infamous thing!"), referring to fanaticism, superstition, and intolerance.

Moral of the Book

The primary moral of 'Candide' is a rejection of naive philosophical optimism (represented by Pangloss's "all is for the best in this best of all possible worlds"). Through Candide's endless suffering and encounters with human cruelty, Voltaire demonstrates that abstract philosophical systems are inadequate and often absurd in the face of real-world evil and suffering.

Instead of futile intellectualizing or seeking grand, elusive happiness, the novel advocates for a pragmatic approach to life: "Il faut cultiver notre jardin" ("We must cultivate our garden"). This concluding statement suggests focusing on practical, tangible work within one's own sphere, fostering self-sufficiency, and creating a small pocket of order and happiness in a chaotic world. It implies rejecting grand narratives or utopian ideals in favor of modest, productive labor, finding purpose and contentment in making one's immediate surroundings better. It's a call for action over contemplation, and for accepting the limitations of human knowledge and influence.

Curiosities

• Speed of Writing: Voltaire reportedly wrote 'Candide' in just three days, though this is likely an exaggeration, it does highlight the urgent and spontaneous nature of its composition in response to current events.
• Lisbon Earthquake: The devastating 1755 Lisbon earthquake (which Voltaire personally witnessed the aftermath reports of) profoundly influenced the book. It challenged the prevailing optimistic philosophy of the time, particularly that of Leibniz, which Pangloss represents. Many philosophers struggled to reconcile such a catastrophe with the idea of a benevolent God creating the "best of all possible worlds."
• Anonymity and Censorship: 'Candide' was published anonymously in 1759 due to its controversial content, particularly its criticism of religious and political authorities. Despite efforts to suppress it, it became an immediate bestseller across Europe.
• The "Best of All Possible Worlds": This phrase, central to Pangloss's philosophy, directly satirizes the ideas of German philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, who argued that God, being perfectly good and wise, would have created the best possible universe.
• El Dorado: The episode of El Dorado, the utopian land, is often seen as Voltaire's counterpoint to the ills of the real world. Yet, Candide chooses to leave even this perfect society, suggesting that true contentment might not lie in an idealized external world but in one's own efforts. His departure also shows that humans, even in paradise, are driven by their ingrained desires (in Candide's case, Cunégonde).
• The Baron's Survival: The repeated, almost miraculous, survivals of Pangloss and the Baron, despite gruesome fates, are a satirical device. It allows Voltaire to bring these characters back into the narrative to further challenge or reinforce their fixed philosophical positions, demonstrating the stubbornness of dogma even in the face of overwhelming evidence.
• The Old Woman's Buttocks: The Old Woman's story of having one of her buttocks eaten is a famous and darkly humorous detail, serving as one of the most grotesque illustrations of human suffering and a symbol of how deeply individuals can be disfigured by their experiences.