Slide 1
Voltaire: Candide (Volume D)
Voltaire
Portrait of Voltaire (1778) by Catherine Lusurier, copied after
Nicolas de Largilliere (1718). Housed in the Palace of Versailles.
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DeismPantheismcorruption of the social orderancien
regimedemocracyfair trial, freedom of religion, no slavery
Voltaires Background
Voltaire was a Deist, possessing no absolute faith or single
truth about God; as a pantheist, he believed that God and the
universe could be understood through the use of reason and
observation of nature. His works often remark upon the corruption
of social orders (church, monarchy, aristocracy) and problems with
the ancien regime, in which the First Estates (clergy) exploitation
of power led to problems for the Second Estate (nobles) and, worse,
heavy taxes on the Third Estate (commoners). Voltaire, unlike
Rousseau, viewed democracy as a problem because he considered the
masses idiotic. He supports an enlightened monarch who would
provide fair trials, freedom of religion, and elimination of
slavery. 3
Optimism: The universe is the best possible one God made, as a
perfect God leads to a perfect universe.Sufficient reason: All
things exist, all events occur, and all truth/ knowledge is
obtained for a specific reason (often known only to
God).Preestablished harmony: Causeeffect argument: one things
purpose corresponds to other things purposes.Plenitude: Infinite
possibilities arise in the best of all possible worlds; because
human existence is finite, we are ill-equipped to understand
natures occurrences in the long term.Subservience to a corrupt
leader is preferred to revolution.
Rejection of Leibniz
Leibnizs philosophy (main ideas represented above) was developed
as an answer to the problem of theodicy: the reconciliation of the
existence of evil in the world with the belief in a God that is
all-good, all-powerful, and all-knowing. For centuries, this
problem has been resolved by the Christian belief in original sin:
that people are responsible for evil in the world due to their
disobedience. However, Enlightenment philosophers questioned this
idea and looked for more rational explanations to this problem.
Leibniz put forth a philosophy that came to be known as optimism,
the belief that, despite the existence of evil, we live in the best
of all possible worlds because the good in the world outweighs the
evil. In Candide, Pangloss represents the Leibnizian worldview and
instructs Candide in it. Candide starts out believing in the
optimistic philosophy, but the parade of human evils he encounters
throughout the story leads to his refuting Pangloss at the end of
the novel and arguing that we must cultivate our garden. 4
Diegesis
The primary narrator is frequently interrupted by other
characters who take over the novel to tell their story, a technique
known as diegesis. Characters who take over the narrative include
Cungondes brother, the Negro, Martin, Paquette, Brother Girofle,
the six dethroned kings, and Cacambo. The content of all of these
stories challenges Panglosss Leibnizian optimism, as the characters
tell tales of misfortune and injustice. However, the form of these
diagetic incursions also reinforces this challenge to Leibniz by
presenting a world in which personal, subjective experience
overpowers absolute truth. Candides narrator is unable to fully
tell of the experiences of all of the characters and therefore must
cede control of the narrative to them, just as Leibnizs totalizing
philosophy is unable to account for the specifics of human
experience, and Candides belief that everything works out for the
best is replaced by his belief that everyone must tend their own
garden.
The image is an engraving (1787) by Jean-Michel Moreau. The
caption reads: It depicts the scene where Candide and Cacambo meet
a maimed slave of a sugar mill near Surinam. The caption of the
image reads, It is at this price that you eat sugar in Europe; this
line was said by the slave in the text. The slave has had his hand
cut off for getting a finger stuck in a millstone, and his leg
removed for trying to run away.
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Utopian Writing
The idea of a utopia comes from Renaissance writer Thomas Mores
novel Utopia, which presents a supposedly perfect society governed
by reason. Many Enlightenment writers borrowed Mores idea to create
their own supposedly perfect societies. Voltaires Eldorado and
Jonathan Swifts Land of the Houyhnhms in Book 4 of Gullivers
Travels are the two most notable examples. Voltaires Eldorado seems
to be perfect in that it is serene and peaceful, unlike all of the
other places to which Candide travels, and some readers do agree
with the king that Candide is foolish to leave. However, other
readers have argued that the serenity of Eldorado, like the
serenity of Mores Utopia and Swifts Land of Houyhnhnms, marks a
stasis and lack of feeling that would make the place ultimately
unbearable.
The image is an engraving showing the Lisbon earthquake of 1755.
The caption reads: This copper engraving, made in 1755, shows the
city in ruins and in flames. Tsunamis rush upon the shore,
destroying the wharfs. The engraving is also noteworthy in showing
highly distrubed water in the harbor, which sank many ships.
Passengers in the left foreground show signs of panic. Housed in
the Earthquake Engineering Online ArchiveJan Kozak collection:
KZ128. 6
Voyage Tale
The story of a voyage is one of the most persistent in
literature, going back to ancient texts such as The Epic of
Gilgamesh and the Odyssey. Candides physical voyage takes him from
Europe to South America and back again, with many stops in between.
Voltaire uses the voyage tale to show the disjunction between
Pangloss and Candides cloistered view of the world and the world
itself. Candide goes out into the world with the idea that
Panglosss naive optimistic theories, developed in isolated context
of the chateau, will hold true for the rest of the world.
The image is a map showing Parime Laucus, the lake where Sir
Walter Raleigh places Eldorado, here marked on the west coast of
the lake. Map by Hessel Gerritsz (1625). 7
anti-SemitismUtopianatural disasterswarforeign lands
(particularly the Americas)
Satire and Incongruity
Voltaire uses these devices of incongruity throughout the novel
to show the encroachment of the real world into Pangloss and
Candides optimistic philosophy. The brief exchange between Candide
and Pangloss about Panglosss syphilis is an excellent introduction
into Voltaires satirical techniques. The passage (36061) uses many
of Voltaires techniques, such as incongruously contrasting
high-minded philosophical musings and obscenity. This begins with
Panglosss academic description of the genealogy of the disease,
tracing it back to Christopher Columbus. Pangloss then goes on to
argue that the existence of such a horrible disease is not evidence
against his belief that this is the best of all possible worlds,
since if Columbus had not brought this disease back from the New
World, Europe also would not have had chocolate or cochineal. 8
Gardens
The garden at the castle of the baron is frequently interpreted
as an Edenlike paradise, with Candide and Cungondes expulsion
paralleling Adam and Eves. It is only in this Eden that Panglosss
optimistic philosophy makes sense, as Candide frequently encounters
evil after being expelled and has his optimistic philosophy
challenged. Eldorado is another type of Edenlike garden, and the
Eldorado episode notably presents a brief respite from the parade
of evils and misfortunes that make up most of the book. Cyclically,
the novel ends with Candide and Cungonde making their own garden
and Candide refuting Panglosss philosophy by arguing that each man
should tend his own garden. Gardens can be read as an example of
human industry and self-reliance, disconnected from society, which
is the only way to escape the evil and misfortunes of the
world.
The image is a photograph of Voltaires estate at Ferney. 9
What are the dangers of optimism or, conversely, of skepticism?
How do you see these two theories operating in Candide?Discussion
Questions
Is utopia desirable, or do humans need conflict and challenge in
order to find purpose and fulfillment in their lives? Where do you
see evidence of this in Candide?Discussion Questions
This concludes the Lecture PowerPoint presentation for The
Norton Anthologyof World Literature
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