Voltaire

&
Candide
 Voltaire was born
Francois Marie
Arouet on November
21, 1694 in Paris.
He received his
education at “Louis-
le-Grand,” a Jesuit
college in Paris
where he said he
learned nothing but
“Latin and the
Stupidities.” (His
disdain for religion
becomes apparent in
his later writings.)
 After dropping out of school,
Voltaire became quite popular
among the social circles of
Paris. In 1717, he wrote a
scathing satire about French
authorities and ended up in
prison for eleven months.
While in prison, Voltaire wrote his
first theatrical success- “Oedipe.” In
1726, Voltaire insulted a powerful and
influential nobleman, Chevalier De
Rohan, and was given two options:
prison or exile. Voltaire opted for
the latter and moved to England. While
in England, he studied and became
influenced by John Locke and Sir Isaac
Newton. He also loved and began
writing about the idea of a
constitutional monarchy, which the
French government saw as criticism,
and in 1734, Voltaire was forced to
leave Paris again.
 Voltaire moved to Luneville in
eastern France with his married
mistress, Emilie du Chatelet,
where they lived for fifteen
years. During this time,
Voltaire began a correspondence
with Frederick of Prussia,
finally moving to Potsdam in
1750. Eventually, Voltaire and
Emilie’s relationship ended and
he began a new affair with his
recently widowed niece.
At first in Prussia, Voltaire and
Frederick shared many similar ideas;
however, because of their strong-
minded tendencies, eventually
conflict arose. In March 1753,
Voltaire leaves Prussia on poor terms
and settles in Switzerland. His
choice of a city, Geneva, was
interesting because at the time the
city was populated with Calvinists- a
group who was very pious. Not
surprisingly, Voltaire again found
himself at odds with the government
leaders.
 On November 1, 1755, Lisbon, Portugal
was destroyed by an earthquake that
killed fifteen thousand people in six
minutes with another fifteen thousand
mortally wounded. Voltaire
contemplated on the disaster and began
to think if Alexander Pope (a famed
Optimist) would agree. Pope once wrote
that “Whatever is, is right.” Voltaire
began to question the Optimist
philosophy and knew there must be an
inherent flaw in a philosophy that
believed this devastating earthquake
to be “the best of all possible
worlds.”
 After leaving Geneva, Voltaire finally
settled in Ferney, France where he
wrote Candide in 1759. Voltaire
considered his book to be a literary
response to the philosophy of
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz who
attempted to establish a philosophy
that merged a scientific explanation
of the universe with a belief in a
just God. Voltaire disagreed with
Leibnitz’s assertion that “of all
possible worlds that God could have
created, this must be the best, for
God would have chosen the best” and
set out to satirize what he perceived
to be a dangerously naïve outlook.
 Voltaire was attacking the three main
beliefs of optimism:
1)Humans can transcend their selfishness

2) A final accounting balance of good and

evil in the world is achievable

3) Human philosophies bear some sort of

direct relevance to human behavior
 Voltaire believed that an acceptance
of the Optimist philosophy would
lead “weak thinkers to complacency
and acceptance of evil as a natural
course of things.” After the
publication of Candide, the
philosophy was never again as
credible or as popular.
 Characters of Candide
 Candide- main character,
whose origin is unknown and
irrelevant. The book focuses
on his adventures and his
transformation from an
innocent, candid young man to
a cynical adult.
 Dr. Pangloss- tutor of Candide
whose catch-phrase “all that is
is for the best” is
representative of the philosophy
of Optimism.

 Cunegonde- Candide’s true love;

the object of his desire and all
of his searches and journeys.
She is raped, sold to several
men, and eventually is sold as a
slave until Candide buys her
freedom.
 Cacambo- Candide’s valet and
eventual travel companion
throughout South America
 Don Fernando d’Ibaraa, y
Figueora, y Mascarenes, y
Lampourdos, y Souza- a
nobleman whose name parodies
the ridiculous of titles; he
takes Cunegonde as a lover
 The Old Woman- daughter of a
pope and a princess;
Cunegonde’s travel companion
 James, the Anabaptist- only person
who helps Candide in Holland;
Voltaire uses this character to
point out the hypocrisy of many
Christians
 Paquette- a servant who gives
Pangloss venereal disease and
eventually becomes a prostitute.
 Cunegonde’s brother (the Colonel)-
never given a name; he’s based
partly on Frederick the Great
 Baron Thunder-ten-tronckh- master of
the castle who kicks out Candide
 Tools of Satire
 Ridicule – description intended to cause
contemptuous laughter.
 Irony – The contrast between what is stated
explicitly and what is actually meant.
 Caricature (burlesque)—A representation in
which the subject’s distinctive features are
deliberately exaggerated for comic or
grotesque effect.
 Hyperbole—A figure of speech using
deliberate exaggeration or overstatement.
Hyperbole can be used for either comic or
serious effect; Hyperbole often produces
irony at the same time.
 Sarcasm — From the Greek meaning, "to
tear flesh," sarcasm involves bitter, caustic
language that is meant to hurt of ridicule
someone or something. It may use irony as
a device, but not all ironic statements are
sarcastic.
 Wit — In modern usage, wit is
intellectually amusing language that
surprises and delights. A witty statement is
humorous, while suggesting the speaker's
verbal power in creating ingenious and
perceptive remarks. Wit usually uses terse
language that makes a pointed statement.
 Innuendo – An indirect intimation about a
person or thing, especially of a disparaging
or derogatory nature
 Understatement -- The ironic minimizing of
fact, understatement presents something as
less significant than it is. The effect can
frequently be humorous and emphatic.