The short novel Candide, ou l'Optimisme by influential enlightenment writer Voltaire covers a seemingly comical story mocking the imperialistic society of Europe at the time. It is important to note that Candide, ou l'Optimisme was written in a period of censorship of pre-revolutionary France, and contains a multitude of philosophical themes veiled in an amusing short story. Voltaire, being an enlightenment writer, faces ongoing government crackdowns and threats, and is hence forced to disguise his works in such a fashion. The novel covers the life of Candide and his journey out into the real world, discovering the hardships of normal life. Candide starts off in the castle of Thunder-ten-Tronckh, which is described to be a sort of utopian paradise. However, after Candide reveals his intentions to marry Lady Cunegonde, the sister of the Baron Thunder-ten-Tronckh, he is exiled from the castle. There, he discovers the hardships of everyday life, as he is disillusioned of a perfect world. Various different thematic topics and symbols come into play throughout the novel, many of which play a crucial role into the philosophical understanding of the book’s meaning.
A very important topic found inside Candide, ou l'Optimisme is optimism. This is both seen within the story and the title; l'Optimisme translates roughly to “the Optimist” in english. Within the story, we see optimism present within a multitude of characters, demonstrating an idea akin to Leibniz optimism. Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz is known for his creation of Leibniz optimism, arguing that because God is above all, he is capable of and will do nothing short of creating the perfect world, explaining that all flaws found within their current society are inherent flaws that every society will have. Leibniz’s well known quote “best of all possible worlds” is ironically cast onto Professor Pangloss, whose motto is “all is for the best.” Pangloss is able to see the best in everything, and believes that everything in society always has happened for a reason. Pangloss, near the end of the story, comments that “There is a concatenation of events in this best of all possible worlds: for if you had not been kicked out of a magnificent castle for love of Miss Cunegonde: if you had not been put into the Inquisition: if you had not walked over America: if you had not stabbed the Baron: if you had not lost all your sheep from the fine country of El Dorado: you would not be here eating preserved citrons and pistachio-nuts” (Voltaire 169). Pangloss believes that everything had happened, both the good and bad, have built up to his final situation, and events that had originally seemed catastrophic, such as societal exile from his murder of a Jesuit, have built up to achieve a positive result. Pangloss is not the only one to have demonstrated Leibniz optimism; it is worth noting that Candide also does, being quite optimistic near the beginning. Due to him having been brought up under a “paradise” and under the teachings of Pangloss, Candide preserves a positive outlook on the world even after he is exiled, yet is quickly disillusioned by the hardships that he had experienced. Candide changes from an optimist like Pangloss to someone extremely practical, a change clearly visible from his original view of Pangloss as the smartest person alive contrasted with a neutral, practical response to Pangloss’s comments: “All that is very well [...] but let us cultivate our garden” (Voltaire 169).
Having just noted that the book ends with a note involving a garden, it seems worth exploring the importance that gardens play throughout the work. The story starts out in a paradisiacal garden within the castle of Thunder-ten-Tronckh. We can see a number of similarities it shares with the biblical Garden of Eden, with Lady Cunegonde and Candide both being exiled from the castle for their love. Candide journeys through a multitude of gardens throughout the story, passing the garden within the Jesuit pavilion, the gardens of El Dorado, the garden of Pococurante, Cacambo's garden, the Turk’s Garden, and finally, a garden of his own. It is interesting to note the cyclic nature of the story: Candide’s tale begins in a garden, yet also ends in a garden. However, the irony of the similarities couldn’t be more obvious; despite Candide starting and ending in nearly the same location surrounded by the same people, Candide himself has changed into a completely different person. Despite all this, gardening plays a much more figurative role, representing practical purposes and actions as Voltaire’s works, along with his fellow enlightenment writers’, always hold a hidden meaning behind them. Candide’s final rejection of optimism in his comment “All that is very well [...] but let us cultivate our garden” (Voltaire 169) demonstrates Voltaire’s implied urge for people to reject their belief in imperialistic France, calling the people to believe in enlightened and practical hopes instead. In particular, Voltaire calls for the public to stop believing that their situation would make itself better, instead to begin “cultivating their gardens” to prepare for the incoming revolutionary storm.
Candide also satirizes the gap between the religious and secular world, ridiculing the Catholic Church in the process. Candide is treated unjustly by religious believers of all kinds, from both Catholics and Protestants. In the end, Candide simply decides to withdraw from the religious and philosophical world altogether, turning to practical decisions. This practicality of the non-religious is also seen in other characters, especially the old Turk. The Turk has commented that “I have only twenty acres [and] [...] I and my children cultivate them; our labour preserves us from three great evils—weariness, vice, and want.” (Voltaire 166), demonstrating how the general public is not the least concerned with religious affairs, with Voltaire implicitly undermining the power of the Church with this revelation. The sciences are also presented with quite a positive nature, and Candide himself seems to enjoy the sciences. Within El Dorado, a land resembling paradise, Candide discovers a building solely dedicated to scientific research: “what surprised [Candide] most and gave him the greatest pleasure was the palace of sciences, where he saw a gallery two thousand feet long, and filled with instruments employed in mathematics and physics” (Voltaire 85). By correlating the sciences with a paradisiacal country, Voltaire implies that science is necessary for society to advance. Voltaire also cuts any ties between El Dorado and the religious world, with their “religion” simply being a set of laws in which everyone believes in. Voltaire is demonstrating that in reality, religion is worthless, while science is capable of bringing about fundamental change.
In conclusion, a wide variety of thematic conclusions bring about the implied call to practicality hidden within the short novel Candide, ou l'Optimisme. The story satirizes both optimism and religion, emphasizing enlightenment ideals. Gardens are also connected to a variety of themes, and finds its ties to both of the above, the denunciations of optimism and religion. Symbolism is omnipresent, with Pangloss symbolizing Leibniz optimism, the garden of Thunder-ten-Tronckh symbolizing the Garden of Eden, and so on. The story concludes with an outright rejection of a once-believer of optimism, announcing, let us cultivate our garden.
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