Voltaire's "Candide" attempts what many of the world's great religions have failed to do: address the existence of evil in our world.
Candide lives in the lush country residence of the Baron Thunder-Ten-Tronckh in Westphalia, in what his tutor Pangloss has told him is "the best of all possible worlds". Pangloss preaches that everything has a purpose, and that everything is for the best. And, in the midst of considerable luxury, Candide has no reason to believe otherwise.
But Candide's world comes crashing down when he is kicked out of the Baron's residence for flirting with the Baron's daughter Cunégonde. Of course, misfortune never comes singly, and Candide is soon plagued by a string of unfortunate events that drive him ever further from his Westphalian home. Candide clings to Pangloss' naïve optimism, traveling around the world in the hopes of being reunited with his sweetheart Cunégonde.
"Candide" moves forward with the frenetic pace of a comic book adventure. With his twisted brand of humor, Voltaire subjects Candide to tortures that are at once cruel and hilarious. Voltaire also uses his novella to make snide remarks about his personal enemies. It's difficult to imagine that something this frothy has anything serious to offer the reader, but it does...
But Candide's world comes crashing down when he is kicked out of the Baron's residence for flirting with the Baron's daughter Cunégonde. Of course, misfortune never comes singly, and Candide is soon plagued by a string of unfortunate events that drive him ever further from his Westphalian home. Candide clings to Pangloss' naïve optimism, traveling around the world in the hopes of being reunited with his sweetheart Cunégonde.
"Candide" moves forward with the frenetic pace of a comic book adventure. With his twisted brand of humor, Voltaire subjects Candide to tortures that are at once cruel and hilarious. Voltaire also uses his novella to make snide remarks about his personal enemies. It's difficult to imagine that something this frothy has anything serious to offer the reader, but it does...
The Serious Side
In "Candide", Voltaire satirizes the idea of philosophical optimist, championed by philosophers like Gottfried Leibniz, who argued that at the point of creation, God had before him a choice of many possible worlds. God, in his infinite wisdom, necessarily chose to create the best of all possible worlds.
Through Candide's tribulations, Voltaire presents the reader with the many forms of evil and suffering in our world. He ridicules the notion that we live in the best of all possible worlds, illustrating plainly how individuals must endure unspeakable indignity in the course of their lives. Like Candide, we are forced to re-examine our personal philosophy of life when faced with evil.
What, then, is the cause of evil, original sin, or bad karma? Voltaire is not interested in that question. Instead, he focuses on the individual's response to evil, as he advocates a practical, pragmatic way of looking at life, one that is not caught up in "metaphysico-thelogo-cosmolonigology" ( la métaphysico-théologo-cosmolonigologie ) or needless philosophizing. The value of life is in the living. Only when Candide realizes this fact does he arrive at a state of emotional equilibrium.
Through Candide's tribulations, Voltaire presents the reader with the many forms of evil and suffering in our world. He ridicules the notion that we live in the best of all possible worlds, illustrating plainly how individuals must endure unspeakable indignity in the course of their lives. Like Candide, we are forced to re-examine our personal philosophy of life when faced with evil.
What, then, is the cause of evil, original sin, or bad karma? Voltaire is not interested in that question. Instead, he focuses on the individual's response to evil, as he advocates a practical, pragmatic way of looking at life, one that is not caught up in "metaphysico-thelogo-cosmolonigology" ( la métaphysico-théologo-cosmolonigologie ) or needless philosophizing. The value of life is in the living. Only when Candide realizes this fact does he arrive at a state of emotional equilibrium.
Beneath its absurdist veneer, Voltaire's "Candide" masks a great deal of philosophical thought, which makes you stop and ponder.
