Angela Bogat
Voltaire is often credited with being an inspiration for the French Revolution and a writer who as much as anyone in history helped create a climate for social change to bring about a more just world. The philosophy he advocates in his most famous novel Candide however, is anything but revolutionary. In it he attacks the assertion of Leibniz, a well known optimistic philosopher, that this is the best of all possible worlds. In fact, Voltaire does this with such satiric ferocity that he all but totally discredits and destroys it.
Voltaire satirizes Leibniz’s ideas in several ways. First, he does this through his description of Candide’s birthplace. The Baron was considered the wealthiest and most powerful lord in the region, yet the conditions in which he resided were utterly horrible. The townspeople lived in poverty and starvation, yet the Baroness was a large, hefty woman, thus insinuating that she never missed a meal. By mentioning this scenario, Voltaire wishes to elicit his readers to ask the question “What is wrong with this situation?” Voltaire’s answer, which is revealed throughout the book, is that this is an example of evil in the world in the form of vice and greed and therefore not the best of all possible worlds. Further on in the book, Candide finds himself in the Bulgarian army fighting in a war battle. After witnessing thousands of men slain, he wonders how this could happen in the “best of all possible worlds.” The murder and slaying of soldiers does not seem a possibility in the finest world, yet that is precisely what takes place in this world. Occurrences like these are why Voltaire does not swallow the idea that this the best of all possible worlds.
Voltaire not only examines the mishaps and ill fortune of Candide, but he also presents the misfortunes of the world through other characters in the book. Voltaire does this in order to demonstrate that the world is full of misfortune and that no one is immune to it. For example, both Cunegonde and the Old Woman each have an opportunity to tell their tale of woe to Candide. Cunegonde witnesses the murder and dismemberment of her family, is repeatedly raped, stabbed, and forced into slavery. When she examines and tries to make sense out of all that has happened to her, she comes to the conclusion that she was deceived when she was told that “all is for the best in the world” (Voltaire 113). Her realization is that of Voltaire himself. The Old Woman has a story to tell too, one that greatly surpasses the misery of Candide’s or Cunegonde’s. The Old Woman was born to a wealthy family and spent her youth living in a palace. However, she and her mother were abducted by pirates and taken as slaves. She witnesses the murder of her mother, is raped, beaten, and repeatedly sold from one owner to the next. The most humiliating experience of all for her: having one of her buttocks cut from her. She never gave up hope for one simple reason, though. She loves life too much. She calls her passion for life a weakness, a curse. Staying alive means more opportunity for turmoil and grief.
The Old Woman sees the irony in this and so does Voltaire. The Old Woman makes it a point to mention that everyone has their tales of suffering and woe; it is a part of life. There is no man, or woman for that matter, that has never cursed his or her own life or felt as if he or she was the most unfortunate person in the world. To the Old Woman and Voltaire, this is what life is all about. These are the existing conditions of this world.
In the end Candide, representative of Voltaire, comes to the conclusion that the best life is one lived without thinking but simply just doing, doing what needs to be done. For Candide, he needs to cultivate his garden. Cultivation is work, work essential to his survival. This simple task can be generalized to encompass all of humanity. Voltaire sees the objective of human existence and survival as doing what needs to be done in order to insure this. In other words, one should do what it takes to stay alive and only concern oneself with those things. The prevalence and the purpose of all of the evils in the world really do not matter to Voltaire. According to him, humans exist with the challenge remaining in existence. The human race needs to keep itself alive and advancing. The evils in the world may make life harder, but not impossible.
After deciphering Voltaire’s message in his book Candide, however, it is clear why he took the standpoint that he did. Voltaire wrote for all classes including the lowest. As a man very much involved in the governing bodies in Europe, Voltaire used his writing to instigate changes in the way things were being done and in the way people were being treated. His purpose was not necessarily to cause a revolt, but rather to calm the lower-class. By suggesting and encouraging all people, including the poorest of the poor, to submerge themselves into their work, Voltaire hoped that the struggle between classes would subside. The rulers and monarchs would continue to rule and the peasants would continue to cultivate their crops. All classes are plagued by the evils of the world, but all classes do prevail over them in the end. Boredom, vice, and need are present at any economic level. Work is also present. Combating these evils by concentrating on one’s work is the best way to keep away of the evils in the world.