Candide (or Optimism) is a satire novel written by the French writer and philosopher Voltaire (pen name of François-Marie Arouet) in 1759. It is the tale of adventure of Candide, whose belief that everything happens for the best is turned upside down as he wanders the world with his numerous companions.
Candide's misfortunes begin upon being caught kissing a women. Upon being kicked out, he says: “Alas!” said Candide, “I know this love, that sovereign of hearts, that soul of our souls; yet it never cost me more than a kiss and twenty kicks on the backside. How could this beautiful cause produce in you an effect so abominable?” (Candide, Chapter 1)
In the rest of the novella, everywhere Candide goes and everything that happens to him is a result of his love for Cunégonde. Additionally, Pangloss's syphilis too is a result of his interaction with a woman. Women thus symbolize man's desire, which ultimately results in trouble. Candide's love for Cunégonde ends up resulting in a series of violent acts committed by Candide, from killing her Jewish lover to stabbing her brother.
Mavi Boncuk | (pictured) Candide recoils in horror when he sees how ugly Cunégonde has become.
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No sooner had Candide got on board the vessel than he flew to his old valet and friend Cacambo, and tenderly embraced him. "Well," said he, "what news of Cunegonde? Is she still a prodigy of beauty? Does she love me still? How is she? Thou hast doubtless bought her a palace at Constantinople?""My dear master," answered Cacambo, "Cunegonde washes dishes on the banks of the Propontis, in the service of a prince, who has very few dishes to wash; she is a slave in the family of an ancient sovereign named Ragotsky,[35] to whom the Grand Turk allows three crowns a day in his exile. But what is worse still is, that she has lost her beauty and has become horribly ugly.
"He reunites with Cunégonde, who he points out is no longer pretty, and the old woman. It turns out that Pangloss and the Baron too are miraculously still alive. The group (excluding the Baron, who Candide sends back to a Turkish gang so that he does not get in the way of his sister’s wedding to Candide) end up buying a farm outside of Constantinople, where they ultimately end up cultivating a garden.
Galley Slaves to Ottoman Turks
Dr. Pangloss: Candide believed that Pangloss was hanged at the auto-da-fé in Lisbon, but he later found him alive working as a galley-slave in Constantinople.
"...I entered the service of a Venetian merchant, and went with him to Constantinople. One day I took it into my head to step into a mosque, where I saw an old Iman and a very pretty young devotee who was saying her paternosters. Her bosom was uncovered, and between her breasts she had a beautiful bouquet of tulips, roses, anemones, ranunculus, hyacinths, and auriculas. She dropped her bouquet; I picked it up, and[Pg 157] presented it to her with a profound reverence. I was so long in delivering it that the Iman began to get angry, and seeing that I was a Christian he called out for help. They carried me before the cadi, who ordered me a hundred lashes on the soles of the feet and sent me to the galleys. I was chained to the very same galley and the same bench as the young Baron."
Baron Thunder-ten-tronckh: The Baron refuses to allow Candide to marry his sister, so Candide takes out his sword and tries to kill the Baron. Candide later finds the Baron alive in Constantinople as a galley-slave.
"..."I ask your pardon once more," said Candide to the Baron, "your pardon, reverend father, for having run you through the body.""Say no more about it," answered the Baron. "I was a little too hasty, I own, but since you wish to know by what fatality I came to be a galley-slave I will inform you. After I had been cured by the surgeon of the college of the wound you gave me, I was attacked and carried off by a party of Spanish troops, who confined me in prison at Buenos Ayres at the very time my sister was setting out thence. I asked leave to return to Rome to the General of my Order. I was appointed chaplain to the French Ambassador at Constantinople. I had not been eight days in this employment when one evening I met with a young Ichoglan, who was a very handsome fellow. The weather was warm. The young man wanted to bathe, and I took this opportunity of bathing also. I did not know that it was a capital crime for a Christian to[Pg 155] be found naked with a young Mussulman. A cadi ordered me a hundred blows on the soles of the feet, and condemned me to the galleys. I do not think there ever was a greater act of injustice. But I should be glad to know how my sister came to be scullion to a Transylvanian prince who has taken shelter among the Turks."
Chapters 26-28: One night, Candide comes upon Cacambo in a restaurant. Cacambo is now a slave and informs Candide that Cunégonde is in Constantinople. Also at the restaurant are six strangers, one of whom is Cacambo's master, Sultan Achmed. Their servants all refer to them as Your Majesty. Candide asks about this strange occurrence, and the six dethroned kings tell their stories of misfortune. Candide and Martin join Sultan Achmed and Cacambo on board a ship headed to Constantinople. Cacambo tells Candide that Cunégonde is now a slave to a prince and has become very ugly. Despite this, Candide says, "I'm a man of honour, and my duty is to love her always," (79). Candide bought Cacambo back and then boarded a galley to search for Cunégonde. Two of the galley-slaves turn out to be Pangloss and the young Baron who had miraculously survived hanging and stabbing respectively. Pangloss insists that despite his unfortunate life, he still believes wholeheartedly in the philosophy of Optimism.
Chapters 29-30: The whole group tells their stories and debates philosophy until they find Cunégonde and the old woman working at the home of the Prince of Transylvania. Candide recoils upon seeing Cunégonde's ugliness but his good manners prevail. Candide buys both Cunégonde and the old woman free. No one has told Cunégonde that she is ugly. The old woman reminds Candide of his promise to marry her, but the Baron still refuses to allow the marriage. They send the Baron back to the galley, and Candide marries Cunégonde. The whole group goes to live on a small farm, but they are all unhappy and bored. Paquette and the monk show up with no money which prompts even more philosophizing and arguing. The group consults a dervish, the greatest philosopher in Turkey, who asks, "What does it matter whether there's evil or there's good... When His Highness sends a ship to Egypt, does he worry whether the mice on board are comfortable or not?" (86). When Pangloss tries to discuss Optimism with him, the dervish slams the door on them. They then meet an old Turkish man who says, "I have but twenty acres. I cultivate them with my children. Work keeps us from three great evils: boredom, vice, and need," (87). Candide concludes that this Turk is more fortunate than the dethroned kings they met earlier and concludes that "we must cultivate our garden," (88). Pangloss agrees with a philosophical argument. Martin suggests that they stop philosophizing and start working, and the group followed this advice. Each person had their own job and they lived well. Pangloss still believes in Optimism. Candide responds, saying, "That is well put, but we must cultivate our garden," (88).
Candide's misfortunes begin upon being caught kissing a women. Upon being kicked out, he says: “Alas!” said Candide, “I know this love, that sovereign of hearts, that soul of our souls; yet it never cost me more than a kiss and twenty kicks on the backside. How could this beautiful cause produce in you an effect so abominable?” (Candide, Chapter 1)
In the rest of the novella, everywhere Candide goes and everything that happens to him is a result of his love for Cunégonde. Additionally, Pangloss's syphilis too is a result of his interaction with a woman. Women thus symbolize man's desire, which ultimately results in trouble. Candide's love for Cunégonde ends up resulting in a series of violent acts committed by Candide, from killing her Jewish lover to stabbing her brother.
Mavi Boncuk | (pictured) Candide recoils in horror when he sees how ugly Cunégonde has become.
"He reunites with Cunégonde, who he points out is no longer pretty, and the old woman. It turns out that Pangloss and the Baron too are miraculously still alive. The group (excluding the Baron, who Candide sends back to a Turkish gang so that he does not get in the way of his sister’s wedding to Candide) end up buying a farm outside of Constantinople, where they ultimately end up cultivating a garden.
Galley Slaves to Ottoman Turks
Dr. Pangloss: Candide believed that Pangloss was hanged at the auto-da-fé in Lisbon, but he later found him alive working as a galley-slave in Constantinople.
"...I entered the service of a Venetian merchant, and went with him to Constantinople. One day I took it into my head to step into a mosque, where I saw an old Iman and a very pretty young devotee who was saying her paternosters. Her bosom was uncovered, and between her breasts she had a beautiful bouquet of tulips, roses, anemones, ranunculus, hyacinths, and auriculas. She dropped her bouquet; I picked it up, and[Pg 157] presented it to her with a profound reverence. I was so long in delivering it that the Iman began to get angry, and seeing that I was a Christian he called out for help. They carried me before the cadi, who ordered me a hundred lashes on the soles of the feet and sent me to the galleys. I was chained to the very same galley and the same bench as the young Baron."
Baron Thunder-ten-tronckh: The Baron refuses to allow Candide to marry his sister, so Candide takes out his sword and tries to kill the Baron. Candide later finds the Baron alive in Constantinople as a galley-slave.
"..."I ask your pardon once more," said Candide to the Baron, "your pardon, reverend father, for having run you through the body.""Say no more about it," answered the Baron. "I was a little too hasty, I own, but since you wish to know by what fatality I came to be a galley-slave I will inform you. After I had been cured by the surgeon of the college of the wound you gave me, I was attacked and carried off by a party of Spanish troops, who confined me in prison at Buenos Ayres at the very time my sister was setting out thence. I asked leave to return to Rome to the General of my Order. I was appointed chaplain to the French Ambassador at Constantinople. I had not been eight days in this employment when one evening I met with a young Ichoglan, who was a very handsome fellow. The weather was warm. The young man wanted to bathe, and I took this opportunity of bathing also. I did not know that it was a capital crime for a Christian to[Pg 155] be found naked with a young Mussulman. A cadi ordered me a hundred blows on the soles of the feet, and condemned me to the galleys. I do not think there ever was a greater act of injustice. But I should be glad to know how my sister came to be scullion to a Transylvanian prince who has taken shelter among the Turks."
Chapters 26-28: One night, Candide comes upon Cacambo in a restaurant. Cacambo is now a slave and informs Candide that Cunégonde is in Constantinople. Also at the restaurant are six strangers, one of whom is Cacambo's master, Sultan Achmed. Their servants all refer to them as Your Majesty. Candide asks about this strange occurrence, and the six dethroned kings tell their stories of misfortune. Candide and Martin join Sultan Achmed and Cacambo on board a ship headed to Constantinople. Cacambo tells Candide that Cunégonde is now a slave to a prince and has become very ugly. Despite this, Candide says, "I'm a man of honour, and my duty is to love her always," (79). Candide bought Cacambo back and then boarded a galley to search for Cunégonde. Two of the galley-slaves turn out to be Pangloss and the young Baron who had miraculously survived hanging and stabbing respectively. Pangloss insists that despite his unfortunate life, he still believes wholeheartedly in the philosophy of Optimism.
Chapters 29-30: The whole group tells their stories and debates philosophy until they find Cunégonde and the old woman working at the home of the Prince of Transylvania. Candide recoils upon seeing Cunégonde's ugliness but his good manners prevail. Candide buys both Cunégonde and the old woman free. No one has told Cunégonde that she is ugly. The old woman reminds Candide of his promise to marry her, but the Baron still refuses to allow the marriage. They send the Baron back to the galley, and Candide marries Cunégonde. The whole group goes to live on a small farm, but they are all unhappy and bored. Paquette and the monk show up with no money which prompts even more philosophizing and arguing. The group consults a dervish, the greatest philosopher in Turkey, who asks, "What does it matter whether there's evil or there's good... When His Highness sends a ship to Egypt, does he worry whether the mice on board are comfortable or not?" (86). When Pangloss tries to discuss Optimism with him, the dervish slams the door on them. They then meet an old Turkish man who says, "I have but twenty acres. I cultivate them with my children. Work keeps us from three great evils: boredom, vice, and need," (87). Candide concludes that this Turk is more fortunate than the dethroned kings they met earlier and concludes that "we must cultivate our garden," (88). Pangloss agrees with a philosophical argument. Martin suggests that they stop philosophizing and start working, and the group followed this advice. Each person had their own job and they lived well. Pangloss still believes in Optimism. Candide responds, saying, "That is well put, but we must cultivate our garden," (88).