It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
French author, humanist, rationalist, & satirist (1694 - 1778)
Voltaire
 Voltaire: pen name for François-Marie Arouet
 Born into a middle class French family
 November 21, 1694
 Father strict authoritarian—lawyer
 Knew Cardinal Richelieu and Duke of Sully
 At 10 sent to a Jesuit school to study law
 Left school at 16-intent on spending his life as a writer
 Spent time as a diplomat at The Hague
 Wrote poetry, banished from Paris, imprisoned for a
poem critical of Louis XV
 Wrote for over 60 years of time; filling over 70 large
volumes
 Defender of freedom
 “I do not agree with a word you say, but I will defend
to the death your right to say it.”
 Defended the rights of men to write and say what they
wished
 Was intolerant in his criticism of his enemies, however
 Believed in rule by reason—not a democrat; wanted
rule by an enlightened despot
 Allowed freedom of speech and other basic freedoms
 Did what needed to be done
 Popular with the masses
 Frederick the Great of Prussia
 Example of this type of ruler
 Voltaire desired freedom for the enlightened, not for
the rest of humanity
 Had little interest in the common man
 Voltaire major intellectual influence
 Writing influenced an entire generation of French
Revolutionaries
 During later part of his life carried on a long
correspondence with Rousseau
 Differed on many points
 His influence is seen in much of Rousseau’s work
 Saw himself as a critic—many see him as more
destructive than constructive
 Saw rampant irrationality—called for specific reforms
over grandiose schemes—more realistic
 Voltaire sought religious freedom as well as other basic
rights
 Unlike Rousseau who wanted to end all religion; Voltaire
realized that “common men” were not ready for such
changes
 Instead he called for freedom—but only for those who
knew how to handle in—not for all
 Believed in education; agreed with Locke’s idea of the
tabula rasa
 Faulty education was major problem
 Better education would solve most of the difficulties facing us
Gottfried Wilhelm
von Leibniz
His philosophy of
optimism serves as
the inspiration for
the novel.
Also, Leibniz was
a mathematician
most known as the
co-founder of
calculus with
Newton.
 Highly critical of Leibniz’s philosophy of optimism
 Candide is full of political and philosophical satire of
the many controversies during the 1750s
 Readers will see the idea that we “live in the best of all
possible worlds,” and apparent folly, misery and strife
are actually harbingers of a greater good we cannot
perceive, is hogwash.
 Voltaire’s satire contrasts ironically tragedy and
comedy by using actual events which occurred during
this time period.
 Voltaire’s criticism wasn’t directly




aimed at Pope.
Pope also had an optimistic
principle that “all is right.”
Leibniz’s states “this is the best of
all possible worlds.”
Some critics feel Voltaire spared
Pope out of respect.
A later work by Voltaire, Poème,
could be a response to Pope’s
work.
 Voltaire was also commenting on cultural relativism
 Michel de Montaigne’s On Cannibals
 Essay that argued that European culture was no closer to
God or morally “right”
 Shakespeare also used this concept in his play The
Tempest
 Voltaire shows other cultures in comparison to
European society as his main character Candide has a
series of misadventures
 Optimism
 Human condition: what is the best way to approach life?
 Candide is brought up on the philosophy of optimism
 Will ultimately reject this at the end of novel
 Free Will
 Distinction between man and animals
 Societies need to form around concept of working
together for a common good
 Evil
 Is evil inherent to humans or a matter of perspective?
 Debate between Candide the optimist and Martin the
pessimist reflects this.
 Political and Religious Oppression
 Religious leaders who commit acts of immorality and
depravity
 Mistreatment of citizens, slaves, women by members of
authority
 Powerful institutions which only harm citizens instead
of protecting them
 Power of Lust
 Exploitation of women and workers due to lust for
money.
 Acts of war and cruelty in the new world due to lust for
money.
 Lust for power and position in society lead characters to
ignore common sense and basic kindness.
 Candide
 Name derived from the Latin word, candidus, means
white
 White symbolizes innocence
 Also means candid—he looks at the world and tells us
exactly what he sees
 Pangloss
 Absent throughout most of the book, but influence is
seen through Candide.
 Word comes from Greek pan and glossa means all
languages—another way of saying “windbag”
 Character modeled after Leibniz, Pope, and other
optimistic thinkers of the period
 Martin
 Candide’s companion through book
 Opposite of Candide, thinks all is for the worst
 In the end, Candide will reject both Pangloss & Martin
 Cacambo
 Candide’s guide in the new world
 Name resembles cacao
 Name implies a half-breed origin, he is a wily American
half-breed
 Foil for the Baron-perfect lineage, but morally impure
 Cacambo’s character is pure
 Name chosen for sound and its meaning
 Alliterative effect of Candide, Cunègonde, Cacambo
 Name of many medieval queens
 Represents chivalric love and hard-headed realism
 Several views/perspectives of Cunègonde
 Candide sees her as pure and virtuous
 We see a beautiful, shrewd wench
 At end she will be an ugly dishwasher for Prince of
Transylvania—arms red and rough from hard work
 One of the few dynamic characters
 Innocent young girl in beginning
 Wise woman of the world at end
 At first she is coy with Candide, at end demands he marry her
 Old Woman
 Classic type in French lit
 Serves 1st as Cunègonde maid; Cunègonde will become
her double by end of book
 Abigail serves this way for Cacambo
 Voltaire uses her voice to add his reflections
 Pacquette
 Serving-girl turned prostitute
 Name means “daisy”
 Her misfortunes parallel her mistress Cunègonde
 Pococurante
 Name means “caring little”
 Jaded man of the world which Candide would have
become if he had no difficulties
 Martin believes there is pleasure in not being pleased
 Pococurante shows us that even the best is for the worst
 Brother Giroflée
 Name means “wallflower”
 Symbolizes stupidity of primogeniture and the nature of
vocations in the church
 Name of Barony chosen for sound
 Represents the pomposity and pettiness of small
baronies in that part of Europe
 Vain, blustering tyrant probably just like his father
 Son is warrior-saint of the Jesuits
 Kills with abandon, no vocation, enjoys life in Paraguay
 Candide discovers him & pays for his freedom
 Down on his luck, homosexual
 Galley slave yet refuses to allow Candide to marry his
sister, Cunègonde who is of noble birth
 Represents the narrow-minded views of European
nobility which will lead to destruction of the class
 Written as an allegory of the human condition
 Characters are not meant to be identified with but to
stand for a particular ideal or characteristic
 Each character acts as a symbol to further the satire
 Pangloss symbolizes folly of blind optimism and
excessive speculation.
 Lisbon earthquake of 1755 represents devastating
natural events for which no rational explanation can
be found.
 An important symbol in novel
 Eviction from the castle garden could be seen as
eviction of man from Garden of Eden
 El Dorado could represent a false Garden of Eden
 At end of novel Candide and Cunègonde find pleasure
in working their own land/garden.
 Many critics see the garden however as Voltaire’s
support for Diderot’s Encyclopedia
 Could be considered a garden of knowledge
 http://librivox.org/candide-by-voltaire/
 http://www.paperstarter.com/candide.htm
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwMlWy