Candide
In his signature work Candide, French author Voltaire offers an extensive criticism of seventeenth and eighteenth-century social, cultural, and political realities. Aiming the brunt of his satirical attack on the elite strata of society, Voltaire simultaneously criticizes some liberal Enlightenment philosophies. Voltaire mocks the authority of both Church and State, showing the corruption inherent in each. Similarly, the novel points out the insipid arrogance of the aristocracy, especially via his relationship with the Baron and his family, all of whom except for his beloved Cunegonde remain farcically nameless throughout the novel. Although Voltaire sympathizes with the core values of Enlightenment thought such as social justice, reason, and egalitarianism, his novel demonstrates disappointment with the distortion of those values. Excess optimism, represented clearly by Pangloss, and excess pessimism, represented by Martin, are portrayed as the two impractical extremes of Enlightenment values in Candide. Furthermore, while Voltaire appreciates the burgeoning rationalism and scientific thought of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, he also points out how excess reason can exaggerate the importance of human beings' place in the universe, neglecting an appreciation for the powerful forces of nature. Voltaire also satirizes human friendship and romance via the relationships that the title character develops with people like Cunegonde, Jacques, Cacambo, and the old woman. Candide is an enduring work of literature because of its broad and unsparing social critique and for its author's frank illustration of irony.
Cunegonde in many ways propels the plot of the novel because Candide pursues her almost as his life's purpose. Following Cunegonde from nation to nation, Candide endures exile, danger, and isolation and yet never really finds fulfillment in his love. Through Candide's relationship with Cunegonde, Voltaire launches his clearest attack on elitism and on social norms. The novel opens with the youthful flirtation between Candide and Cunegonde, which leads directly to Candide's exile and his relentless lifelong journey in pursuit of Cunegonde and of his own freedom. Candide's exile, his illegitimate birth, and the refusal of any one in the Baron's family to recognize Candide as a social equal comprise a solid critique of the aristocracy. Cunegonde's betrayal of Candide in Buenos Aires suggests that she, too, plays into the social norms and elitist mentality of her family. The Baron's family all become stripped entirely of their wealth and political power by the end of the novel and yet none will recognize Candide as a social equal. Even when humbled and beaten, the Baron's family retains their sense of superiority. In spite of Candide's having helped Cunegonde and in spite of his obvious intelligence, the Baron and the Baron's son perpetually look down their noses at Candide, proclaiming that he is of too lowly a birth for Cunegonde. Voltaire mocks Cunegonde's brother in Chapter Fifteen, when he states, "you have the impudence to marry my sister, who bears seventy-two quarterings!" The insistent references to pedigree mimic the lineage of horses or dogs, not humans. In casting the nobility in a degrading light through their compromised position in Turkey and their ridiculous ascription to nobility by birthright, Voltaire mocks the aristocracy with aplomb. The fact that none of Cunegonde's relatives are referred to by first name, but only in relation to Thunder-ten-tronckh emphasizes Voltaire's mockery of nobility in Candide.
Voltaire also frankly mocks Church authority and Church doctrine. A brunt of Enlightenment philosophy already, the Church is under attack by figures in the novel like Pangloss. However, especially through Pangloss, Voltaire shows how the Enlightenment failed to offer a sound alternative to the Church. While Voltaire paints the Church as being much more one-dimensional and monolithic than the Enlightenment, the author nevertheless points out weaknesses in both philosophies. In Candide, the Church is initially represented by the heavy-handed forces of the Grand Inquisitor in Lisbon. The Grand Inquisitor's participation in Cunegonde's enslavement shows the outright hypocrisy of Catholicism, underscored by the elaborate...
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