Voltaire, a prominent member of the French Enlightenment, wrote Candide. In 1759, it was printed in French under the title Candide, ou I’Optimisme. The novella was later translated into English and published in 1762 with the same name. In 1947, it was reissued under the name Candide: Optimism. The novel tells the tale of a young named Candide, whose life exhibits great optimism thanks to Professor Pangloss, his teacher. After experiencing many hardships in his life, Candide displays extreme Leibnizian optimism and spreads the message that we must tend to our own gardens.
Candide is not only the main character and protagonist of the novel but also serves as Voltaire’s spokesperson through whom he has disproved Leibniz’s philosophical hypotheses that excessive optimism is harmful to people. In keeping with the meaning of his name, Candide remains upbeat and benevolent to everyone, but he is unable to wed his belove Cunegonde until the very when the Baron again refuses to grant him his wish. He encounters love, wealth, care, and even life throughout the narrative, but Pangloss’ philosophical upbringing has no effect on him. He remains constant until the very end, donates money to good causes, and even aids the destitute king, but he is always ready to marry Cunegonde. The main problem with Candide is that he has too many expectations from optimism, even though his final success in leading a happy life on a ranch is a testament to his goodness. Cunegonde, the beloved of Candidem is the daughter of a baron, but despite this, she descends from her elitist pedestal to love her lowly cousin, Candide. Unfortunately, she suffers misfortune when the Bulgars attack their castles, killing all of her family members but keeping her alive. When Candide sends Cacambo to find her in Constantinople, she finally meets him there after experiencing the worst and going through several hands. Readers are let down by her final decision, but not her lover Candide, who continues to be eager to marry her despite the Baron’s adamant opposition. The Baron, Cunegonde’s brother, is from a wealthy social class and survives the Burglar attack that destroys the castle thanks to some good luck. He turns to religion and joins the Jesuit movement as a priest, but he leaves some indications that he is a homosexual. Despite his arrogance, he still manages to stop Candide from marrying his sister even though she has no prospectus.
Since almost every character demonstrates optimism at some point during the plot, optimism is the novel’s overarching theme and central idea. Professor Pangloss also instills Candide with the idea that everything has a purpose and that there is no such thing as an “effect without a cause.” Therefore, this optimistic determinism helps Candide maintain his positive determinism throughout all of his adversities. He never loses heart, not even when he is in Turkey or the home of the Jesuits. Even his beloved Dunegonde’s ugly appearance does not discourage him, and Pangloss’s commentary demonstrates that Candide fully understood the lesson that even a person’s misfortunes are for the good of the community. The use of free will is the novel’s second central theme. Despite the fact that Candide has complete freedom, he does not always use it. He uses it twice: once at the request of his mentor Pangloss and once at the request of his beloved Cunegonde. When he is conscripted into the army and when he leaves it, he uses his free will on several occasions, but he does not fully exercise it without his mentor’s apparent approval or advice. In the end, though, he exercises his free will in response to the baron’s opposition to his marriage to Cunegonde, the woman he has traveled great distances in search of and won freedom for in Constantinople.
Although the major thematic strand of the novel seems to be love, it is interwoven with love, which appears to be the novel’s main theme, it still reigns supreme because it is Candide’s only motivating passion and the reason he travels to Turkey and the land of the Jesuits and pursues Cunegonde, his beloved. Due to Pangloss’s love for Paquette, he is threatened with expulsion from Westphalia and must reconcile with Pangloss once more. It appears that the novel’s use of women illustrates the insatiable and soul-satisfying human desire for love and physical intimacy. In contrast, the novel also clarifies the idea that evil is a fundamental aspect of human nature. In this regard, the character of Pangloss contributes significantly because he argues that while evil may be explained in terms of its causes and effects, human nature has a unique propensity to reveal various facets of evil, such as the barbarism of the Bulgars and the humanity of the Jesuits, the old woman, or Cacambo. Voltaire's claim that people have a great capacity for evil seems accurate in the various situations Candide encounters, demonstrating the pervasiveness of evil. However, as the novel’s conclusion proves, goodness is also present everywhere.
In the novel’s final chapter, Candide declares, “We must cultivate our garden.” The protagonist comes to the realization that we should manage and influence what we already have with this claim. Throughout the entire book, a variety of characters are mired in unfulfilled existence while searching for joy and happiness. On the other hand, Candide discovers that he cannot be content in Venice because he can not be with Cunegonde, his beloved. Additionally, he discovers that materialism cannot ensure his happiness or success. His social standing could not guarantee his happiness. He actually had no control over all the things for which he yearned. But he finds happiness when he settles down and puts all his energy into his farm. His final observation is therefore based on his experience, which are described in the book.
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