75 pages • 2 hours read
Candide
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Themes
The 18th-Century Philosophy of Optimism
The major theme of Candide, which is even included in the title of the book, is optimism. Only mentioned twice in the book, optimism in the 18th century referred to a philosophical position that the world is the best possible world because an omnipotent, benevolent God has chosen and created the best of all worlds. Philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was known for his optimism, seeking to reconcile the existence of evil in what must be a perfect world, and this philosophy is planted in Candide’s mind as a child by Pangloss, a philosopher and follower of Leibniz.
Optimism is problematic for Voltaire because it involves a degree of fatalism, wherein all events are predetermined and thus inevitable. This view undermines any free will humans might have in their lives, rendering them helpless to change the problems of society and the world, and forcing them to accept the way things are. The position of optimism likewise undermines those who seek to change situations for the better, for it posits that life is already at its best and any improvement is futile. Voltaire often mocks this belief through Pangloss. For example, after the earthquake in Lisbon, Pangloss comforts the locals at dinner, who are so distraught they are soaking their bread with their tears, by saying: “‘This is all for the best,’ he said. ‘For if there is a volcano beneath Lisbon, then it cannot be anywhere else; for it is impossible for things to be elsewhere than when they are. For all is well’” (15). Pangloss’ absurd logic not only declares that all is well in the face of immense loss, his philosophy considers only the big picture, rather than the very real material and spiritual effect of such a disaster. Perhaps the earthquake was inevitable, but it certainly was not good for the victims.
Of all the characters, only Candide seems to believe Pangloss’ optimistic worldview, and even he struggles with its truths. Over time, Candide witnesses enough heartbreaking tragedy, such as the mutilated enslaved man in Chapter 19, to completely renounce Pangloss’ teachings. However, his ability to move past his own sadness, and more significantly, to continually revive his hope of reuniting with Cunégonde, causes him to adopt this position again and again. Candide’s optimism is directly tied to whether things are going well or poorly for him, a feeble basis for a philosophical position. After generously donating to the group of deposed kings in Chapter 27, and on his way to Cunégonde, he says to Martin, “once again I see that Pangloss was right: all is well” (82), conveniently forgetting all that came before and the uncertainty of what lies ahead.
Utopia: A Common Thought Experiment of the 18th Century in France
Candide’s voyage to Eldorado allows Voltaire to explore what utopia would look like and how real people might adapt to a perfect society. The term “utopia” was coined by Sir Thomas More in his book Utopia (1516). Dozens of literary figures since, like Voltaire and his literary contemporaries Montesquieu and Diderot, considered the possibility of a perfect society through literature. The idea of utopia often varies, sometimes linked to ideas of an earthly paradise, where man has returned to a natural state. Other examples, as with Voltaire’s Eldorado, depict a highly functioning society with a sophisticated economic system, a benevolent ruler, and advanced technology that reflects and promotes efficient productivity.
Candide, having been “expelled” from his previous paradise in Westphalia finds a new paradise in Eldorado, which is tucked away in the mountains of South America, like a new Eden. Voltaire’s utopia is described in hyperbolic language, where typical meals are decadent feasts, modest homes are encrusted in rubies and emeralds, and sofas are “upholstered with humming-bird feathers” (46). Eldorado is overflowing with wealth, which ironically means nothing to its residents, whose economic system relies on another currency. Voltaire is deliberately vague about the details of this perfect society, but he is keen to point out that there is only one religion that puts all faithful on equal footing with God, rather than under the authority of priests or monks.
For many Europeans, the idea of the “New World” was a chance for Europeans to begin again. Indeed, an idea at the founding of the United States of America is to accomplish a more perfect society based on freedom and equality under law, and isolated from the corrupt old ways of Europe. In part, the appearance of Eldorado in the text simply serves as Voltaire’s counterpoint to old-world European society, critiquing European ways without proposing a better solution. Voltaire explores what a functioning society might resemble, but it exists in the text to expose the corruption at the heart of European government and society.
For Voltaire, the question of perfection is problematic. For one, the utopia of Eldorado is completely isolated, thus making it an unrealistic goal for the interconnected “modern” world of Candide. Additionally, Candide finds it impossible to stay in this perfect place, driven in part by his desire to be reunited with his love, but likewise by his desire to get some recognition and spend some of the unimaginable wealth he acquires in this utopia. For Voltaire, human flaws, such as desire and conceit, will always interfere with the existence of a perfect society because societies are only a construct of humanity.
The Pursuit of Happiness and Individual Suffering
Candide’s journey across the ocean and back is a spiritual journey, one in the pursuit of happiness, but by which he learns a great deal about suffering. For Candide, happiness is defined by wealth and freedom, but above all by his desire for Cunégonde. His love for Cunégonde is a love for an ideal—young, beautiful, and agreeable, it is easy for Candide to keep this idea of perfection in his mind and to continue striving to be with her. And yet, this happiness is one based on an abstract idea, one that cannot be attained. Eventually, Cunégonde must age; when she loses her attractiveness and becomes “shrewish and insufferable” (90), it is much harder for Candide to believe in Pangloss’ optimism, even if he has finally been reunited with his friends and married to his mistress. Is happiness attainable for Candide, who could not even find lasting satisfaction in Eldorado?
This pursuit of happiness is often expressed through philosophical generalizations with little grounding, such as ideals that people strive for or claim already exist. If happiness is difficult to attain in Candide, suffering seems just as impossible to avoid. Misery and unhappiness are depicted as universal, however for each character, it feels like a highly individual experience. The old woman and Martin both believe suffering is inevitable and impossible to measure because it is such a subjective experience. At the end of Chapter 12, the old woman concludes her own story and invites Candide and Cunégonde to allow each passenger on the boat to tell their stories, insisting that “if you find a single one of them who has not repeatedly cursed his existence, who has not repeatedly told himself that he is the unhappiest man alive, then you may throw me into the sea head first” (31). Likewise, Martin believes that good exists, but from his experience, life only brings suffering. He hopes that Cunégonde will make Candide happy, but he doubts it because “[he] know[s] what life is” (74). Yet while suffering is universal, the old woman also insists that her “weakness” in loving life—that abstract pursuit and hope that happiness is possible—and like Candide’s ever-renewing optimism, it keeps her going.
The comedic irony is that while Pangloss’ optimistic view, “all is for the best,” shapes Candide’s perspective on the world, every character he encounters instead believes that their own world is the worst possible world. However, by accepting their individual roles on the farm in Chapter 30, each contributing something useful to their small community, the characters are finally relieved of the endless pursuit of happiness and their endless suffering. By refusing to seek answers to problems that have no clear answers, and by refusing to debate the large abstractions that have no correlation with the imperfect material needs of real life, the group finds some contentment in satisfying the material needs of their simple, isolated life together on the farm.
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