Summary by Gregory Thornquest

Since creation humans have asked, is there more? Adventurers seek treasure, conquerors seek domination, philosophers seek truth, and Candide seeks the love of Cunegonde. In the novel Candide by Voltaire we are immersed in the world view of the Age of Enlightenment. Liberty, reason, natural and moral philosophy, the value of human life, equality, Providence, and virtue are all continuous themes throughout this literary protest of the status quo of his time.

The main character Candide is born into a life of prosperity and has that prosperity taken from him.  He first possesses a meniscal knowledge of the greater world but through his extraordinary adventures his eyes, as well as the reader’s, are opened to a greater education of humanity as he travels all over the new globe of the 18th century. From Germany to South America and England to Constantinople we are introduced to many cultures that may appear different from first glance but share in a similar hierarchy of society and the treatment of human beings. Our only contrasting society is the mythical city of El Dorado. As we read we are confronted with the sinful nature of mankind and forced to question its moral philosophy and inhuman treatment of one another. As Candide’s veil of affluence is torn he is catapulted to a straightforward and honest uncovering of reality, one not provided while behind the walls of the Baron of Thunder-ten-Tronckh’s castle in Westphalia.

A strong theme throughout this novel is the question, is everything in the world for the best? With this question introduced in the beginning by Pangloss “the greatest philosopher of the whole province, and consequently of the whole world” we walk through a folly of experiences unveiling tragedy after tragedy filled with unmeasurable pain and atrocities due to the “three great evils – weariness, vice, and want”. How can murder, rape, theft, slavery, and life’s many other evils possibly be for the best? Voltaire’s satire concludes with all of life’s tragedies being worth it as long as we end up married to an ugly woman and a garden to cultivate. Or does it?