Classic Review: CANDIDE

 

"Once upon a time in Westphalia, in the castle of Monsieur the Baron von Thunder-ten-tronckh, there lived a young boy on whom nature had bestowed the gentlest of dispositions. His countenance expressed his soul. He combined solid judgment with complete openness of mind; which is the reason, I believe, that he was called Candide." (Opening lines of Candide)

This is the story of the illegitimate Candide, who is exiled from the castle where he lived because he kissed the hand of Cunégonde, the daughter of the Baron. In exile he is conscripted into the army of the King of Bulgars, followed by a series of catastrophes wherever he goes: from Europe to South America, Africa, Asia, and back to Europe.  He is whipped, beat up, hung and left for dead. Everywhere he goes he encounters wars, or earthquakes, or Inquisitions. Yet, through it all he is guided by the philosophy of his mentor Dr. Pangloss, that he lives "in the best of all possible worlds." The book's subtitle comes from this philosophy -- Optimism. This is really a witty, fast-paced, absurd adventure, at least on the surface.

Candide's author, Voltaire, was one of the most significant French philosophers of the Enlightenment. 

At the dawn of the eighteenth-century Age of Reason, Voltaire was part of a revolution in intellectual ferment with such thinkers as Descartes, Newton, Montesquieu, John Locke, and Benjamin Franklin upending centuries-old views of the universe, human rights, religious authority, and the concept of absolute monarchy (Davis, 48).

The tale is much more than a silly action-packed romp around the world, but a philosophical statement about all every sacred cow of Voltaire's day: the church, priesthood, royalty, government, aristocracy, philosophers, and scientists. He even went after the slave trade. Remember this was written in 1759! Even though a classic, the book is not stuffy. It is a timeless satire which can speak to us today. 

"I think Candide is a lesson in the absurd, a demonstration of the difficulties of making sense of life, of all philosophies, of living a meaningful life," said Nicholas Cronk, director of the Voltaire Foundation at the University of Oxford, "...and that is why the book goes on speaking to us, and goes on making us laugh (50).

I admit I missed most of this until my husband, who was listening to the Candide audiobook with me, set me straight. People who read the book and focus only on the silliness will likely tire of it before too long. But if one changes their focus and pays attention to who and what is being skewered one can easily find modern day counterparts to these 18th century problems. Once Don pointed this out to me, I got it. Think about how some church leaders today seek power so much they are willing to abandon core principles of the faith to fit the politics of the day; or how people in power want more money for themselves and their friends so they scapegoat the little guy -- kicking people off Medicaid or deporting immigrants -- to show how tough they are; or people who have no values themselves yet cling to whatever nonsense they hear on TV. We are living through Candide all over again. What's the old adage? Those who fail to learn history are condemned to repeat it.

Source: Davis, Kenneth C. "Candide, or Optimism -1759 - Voltaire." Great Short Books: A Year of Reading--Briefly. Scribner, 2022, pp. 45-51. 

-Anne