Candide, or Optimism

Candide, or Optimism is a 1759 novella by Voltaire satirizing the philosophical tradition of his time.

Summary
Candide leads an idyllic life in the Edenic castle of a German baron as a student of the philosopher Pangloss. Pangloss's seemingly only idea is that of Leibnizian optimism: that we live in the best of all possible worlds and that, as a result, everything that happens is all for the best. His love interest, Cunégonde, is the daughter of a baron. After being caught kissing Cunégonde's hand, Candide is expelled from the castle. Pangloss is also expelled from being caught in flagrante derelicto with one of the servants. When Candide reunites with Pangloss, he finds out that the Baron's castle has been attacked and the entire family has been killed, including Cunégonde. He and Pangloss set off to Lisbon, where they are struck by an earthquake, tsunami, and fire. They are then arrested by a member of the Inquisition and set to be executed. Candide sees Pangloss hanged but is then saved by an old woman who brings her to a room where Cunégonde, who has miraculously survived, is hiding. Candide slays the Grand Inquisitor who kept Cunégonde captive and the three then set sail for the Americas.

The three are pursued by Jesuits because of Candide's murder of the Grand Inquisitor. Candide flees with his manservant, Cacambo. They meet Cunégonde's brother, who has improbably survived and joined the Jesuits. When Candide mentions his intent to marry Cunégonde, the brother attacks him and Candide kills him. They flee and are captured by natives, who threaten to eat them but then release them when they realize that they are the enemies of the Jesuits as well. The two then arrive at El Dorado, a paradise where the streets are made of gold. Despite the wealth and happiness of the land, Candide eventually decides to leave because he wants to continue seeking Cunégonde, much to the El Doradans' surprise. Candide and Cacambo split up, with Cacambo going to Buenos Aires to pick up Cunégonde and with Candide returning to Europe to wait for them accompanied by a philosopher named Martin who espouses cynical and pessimistic ideas. Despite all the events of the novella, Candide still retains Panglossian optimism, which he debates with Martin at length.

After exploring Britain, Paris, and the intricacies of European society, Candide and Martin find out that Cunégonde is in Constantinople, having been enslaved by a prince. On the way, Candide reunites with Pangloss and Cunégonde's brother, who both miraculously survived. Despite his trials, Pangloss once more refuses to renounce his optimistic views. They eventually find Cunégonde, and Candide marries her, despite the fact that she has become "hideously ugly". Candide buys a farm with the last of his money. The group meets a Turk who espouses the simple philosphy that one merely needs to keep busy and prosperous to be happy. When they return to the farm, Pangloss begins philosophizing once more, but Candide merely replies that, instead of discussing philosophy, they need to "cultivate [their] garden."

The Moral of the Story
Although moral imperatives are not at the heart of Voltaire's satire, there nevertheless is at least one: that of action. Words themselves do not have the power to effect real change in the world, so it is necessary to act instead of speaking. This ties in to the themes of the course as a whole: how does literature serve as a vehicle for change? Voltaire seems to hold that literature is useless in this regard and that action is the only way to change things. This is confounded, however, by the fact that this is coming from a work of literature itself. Thus, this idea could be interpreted in many different ways. Overall, though, the idea of action (of "cultivating one's garden") seems to be the central moral imperative of this work.