Candide is a satire that is certainly a product of the century it was written in, the eighteenth century, and reflects the larger intellectual movements of the Age of Enlightenment. Discuss how themes of the Enlightenment are clearly illustrated in the various strands of the work, specifically using satirical commentary. How does Voltaire engage with these ideas and what is his ultimate stance about them? You might want to develop a theme connected to ideas of a particular character or characters, and connect them to institutions existing in late early-modern France.
Although Candide is obviously a fictional tale, Voltaire did not write the satire merely to entertain but also to instruct. An Enlightenment era philosopher, Voltaire wished to illustrate the importance of rational thought and expose the errors of superstition. Perhaps the most obvious manifestation of this is the novel's disdain for religious hypocrisy, although it also shows similar contempt for tyrannical and absolutist forms of government, as well as political philosophies which encourage subservience to bankrupt ideologies.
This type of attitude can be seen early on in the novel in which the Baron Thunder-ten-Tronckh of Westphalia treats Candide brutally simply for kissing his daughter the Lady Cunegonde, while the young students' tutor openly sleeps with the maid Paquette (and catches syphilis in the process). As a result of his indiscretion, Candide is expelled from the palace and is impressed into military service. Candide's intentions are obviously quite innocent yet the Baron's prurient and despotic attitude reveals his hypocrisy. Candide throughout the novel is shown to be obviously pure and good yet this does not prevent him from meeting with disaster after disaster.
Voltaire does not celebrate Candide's naivete. In fact, he sees it as quite dangerous. It is because of Candide's credulity that he stubbornly remains in love with Cunegonde and also continues to believe that his foolish tutor Dr. Pangloss is wise. Pangloss has one overriding thesis about the world, namely that everything is for the best in the best of all possible worlds and even when there are apparent misfortunes, the Creator will show us why eventually such circumstances lead to a higher purpose that is currently obscure. Pangloss even holds fast to his ideology when he and Candide are tortured by the Inquisition and barely escape with their lives. Pangloss' rationalizations are obviously quite irrational and run contrary to the Enlightenment concept that good sense and a realistic evaluation of the world around us, rather than ideals, should hold sway.
Voltaire's emphasis on rationality also requires him to condemn religious hypocrisy. After Cunegonde is found alive, she is initially seen being 'shared' between an Inquisitor and a Jewish man who see no contradiction between the piety of their
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