Candide Totally Explained

Everything about Candide totally explained

Candide, ou l'Optimisme (1759) is a French satire by the Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire, the title of which has been translated into English as Candide: Or, All for the Best (1759); Candide: Or, The Optimist (1762); and Candide: Or, Optimism (1947). This novella tells the tale of a young man, Candide (meaning "ingenuous"), who has been indoctrinated with Leibnizian optimism but becomes disillusioned after witnessing and experiencing many great hardships. With a plot similar to that of a more serious picaresque novel or bildungsroman, Candide parodies many adventure and romance clichés, and the plights of the characters are described in a tone which is mordantly matter-of-fact. Through the allegory of Candide, Voltaire pokes fun at religion and theologians, governments and armies, philosophies and philosophers; most visibly, Voltaire rails against Leibniz and his Optimism. Candide, Voltaire's magnum opus, is a literary work which, for its biting wit and insightful portrayal of the human condition, has often been mimicked by later authors and adapted for the stage (the most notable of which is Leonard Bernstein's 1956 comic operetta). For these qualities, Candide is often listed as part of the Western canon and is taught perhaps more than any other work of French literature. As expected by Voltaire, Candide has enjoyed both great success and great scandal. Immediately after its secretive publication, the book was condemned by authorities and banned numerous times because of its religious blasphemy, political treason and academic hostility hidden under a thin veil of naïveté.

Historical and literary background

A number of deadly historical events inspired Voltaire to write Candide. Not least among these are the Seven Years' War and the 1755 Lisbon earthquake; both are referred to frequently in the book and cited as the reason for its composition. Ira Wade, a noted expert on Voltaire and Candide, speculates that Voltaire's primary source for information on the earthquake was the 1755 work Relation historique du Tremblement de Terre survenu à Lisbonne by Ange Goudar.
Apart from events, contemporaneous stereotypes of the German personality, which Candide embodies, may have been a source of inspiration for the text. These stereotypes, according to Voltaire biographer Alfred Owen Aldridge, include "extreme credulousness or sentimental simplicity". Thus there are significant parallels between Candide and Simplicius Simplicissimus, the 1669 novel by Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen. Among the literary works written before Candide, one finds many satirical and parodic precursors. Candide's closest literary relative is widely thought to be Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels (1726), a likely source for Voltaire. This satire tells the story of "a gullible ingenue", Gulliver, who travels to several "remote nations" and is hardened by the many misfortunes which befall him. A number of passages in Voltaire's work are reminiscent of some of Swift's writing. Candide's parody of the bildungsroman is most likely based on François Fénelon's The Adventures of Telemachus. Another probable source of inspiration for Candide is Cosmopolite (1753) by Fougeret de Monbron. Monbron's protagonist undergoes a disillusioning series of travels, as in Candide.

Lisbon earthquake and Voltaire's disillusionment

The 1755 Lisbon Earthquake, a massive earthquake which occurred on All Saints' Day, had a strong influence on many theologians of the day—and on Voltaire, who was disillusioned by it. This earthquake, which killed many for no obvious reason, provided philosophers with strong evidence to reject the philosophical system called Optimism, which implies that such events shouldn't occur. Optimism is founded on the theodicy of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716). This argument says that humanity must live in the best of all possible worlds because God, a benevolent deity, created it, therefore, He would have made it to be the best that it could be. This concept is often put into the form, "Tout est pour le mieux dans le meilleur des mondes possibles" (All is for the best in the best of all possible worlds). This locution expresses the fundamental tenet of Leibnizian Optimism to which Candide adheres for the majority of the story. In both Candide and Poème sur le désastre de Lisbonne ("Poem on the Lisbon Disaster"), Voltaire attacks this Optimism.
Voltaire didn't hold to this philosophy, believing that if this were the best possible world, it should surely be better than it is. He made an example of the Lisbon Earthquake in Candide and his Poème to argue this point, sarcastically describing the catastrophe as one of the most horrible disasters "in the best of possible worlds".

Textual allusions

The 1757 execution of British admiral John Byng is alluded to in Candide. According to Martin, the character representing Byng is executed only "pour encourager les autres" (to encourage the others). This explanation has since become proverbial.

When Voltaire wrote in Candide that the Academy of Bordeaux offered a prize to the person who could best explain the existence of Candide's red sheep, he was alluding to an actual offer that was made by that Academy in 1741 to anyone who could write an explanation for black people having a dark skin colour.

Creation

Writing

It is unknown exactly when Voltaire wrote Candide, but scholars estimate that it was primarily composed in late 1758, though Voltaire may have begun it as early as 1757. He is believed to have written a portion of it while at his house in Ferney and also while visiting Charles-Théodore, the Elector-Palatinate at Schwetzingen, for three weeks in the summer of 1758. Despite solid evidence for these claims, a popular legend persists that Voltaire wrote Candide in the span of three days. This idea is probably based on a misreading of the work La Vie intime de Voltaire aux Délices et à Ferney by Perey and Maugras. In fact, the evidence indicates strongly that Voltaire didn't rush nor improvise Candide, but worked on it for a significant period of time, even a whole year. Candide is mature and well-developed, not impromptu, as the choppy plot and the aforementioned myth suggest. Candide underwent one major revision after its initial publication. In 1761, a version of Candide was published which included, along with many minor tweaks, a major addition by Voltaire to the twenty-second chapter, a section that had been thought weak by the Duke of Vallière. The English title of this edition was Candide, or Optimism. Translated from the German of Dr. Ralph. With the additions found in the Doctor's pocket when he died at Minden, in the Year of Grace 1759. The last edition of Candide authorized by Voltaire was the one included in Cramer's 1775 compilation, l'éditions encadrées, meaning "supervised editions".

Publication

Voltaire published Candide simultaneously in five countries no later than 15 January 1759. Seventeen versions of Candide from 1759 are known today, and there has been great controversy over which is the earliest. The complicated science of calculating the relative publication dates of all of the versions is described at length in I.O. Wade's article "The First Edition of Candide: A Problem of Identification". The publication process was extremely secretive, likely the "most clandestine work of the century", because of its obviously illicit and irreverant content. The greatest number of copies of Candide were published concurrently in Geneva by Cramer, in Amsterdam by Marc-Michel Rey, in London by Jean Nourse (translated into English), and in Paris by Lambert. It was translated once into Italian and thrice into English that same year.

Manuscripts

There is only one extant manuscript of Candide that was written before the work's 1759 publication. In 1956, Ira O. Wade discovered this, since named the La Vallière Manuscript, which is believed to have been sent, chapter by chapter, by Voltaire himself to the Duke and Duchess La Vallière in the autumn of 1758. The manuscript was sold to the Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal in the late 1700s, where it remained undiscovered for almost 200 years.The La Vallière Manuscript, the most original and authentic of all surviving copies of Candide, was likely dictated by Voltaire to his secretary, Wagnière, then edited directly. Copies were also sent to Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour.
In addition to this manuscript, there's believed to have been another, one copied by Wagnière for the Elector Charles-Théodore, who hosted Voltaire during the summer of 1758. The existence of this copy was postulated by Norman L. Torrey in 1929.

Illustrations

Voltaire strongly opposed the inclusion of illustrations in his works, as he stated in a 1778 letter to Charles Joseph Panckoucke: "these baubles have never been allowed in the works of Cicero, Virgil and Horace." Nevertheless, two sets of illustrations for Candide were done by French artist Jean-Michel Moreau le Jeune. The first version was done, at Moreau's own expense, in 1787 and included in Kehl's publication of that year, Oeuvres Complètes de Voltaire. Four images were drawn by Moreau for this edition; these were engraved by Pierre-Charles Baquoy. The second version, in 1803, consisted of seven drawings by Moreau; these were transposed by multiple engravers. Twentieth-century modern artist Paul Klee, notably, relates it was while reading Candide that he discovered his own artistic style. Klee illustrated the work, and his drawings were published in a 1920 version edited by Kurt Wolff.

Synopsis

Candide is made of thirty chapters. As noted by Ervin Beck, a professor emeritus of English, and Elizabeth Cooney Leister, author of Voltaire's Candide: Barron's Book Notes, the novella may be divided into three equal parts, each comprising ten chapters and defined by its setting: I–X are in Europe, XI–XX are in America, and XXI–XXX are in Europe and the Ottoman Empire. Other readers divide the book into two parts separated by the hiatus in El Dorado: the first part constitutes the rising action, and the last the resolution. This view is supported by the strong theme of travel and quest, reminiscent of adventure and picaresque novels. Indeed, after wandering aimlessly, Candide discovers that his love is alive, and the theme of adventure increases as he sets out to find her.

Chapters I–X

The tale of Candide begins in the castle of the Baron Thunder-ten-tronckh in Westphalia, home to the Baron's daughter, Lady Cunégonde; nephew Candide; a tutor, Pangloss; a chambermaid, Paquette; and the rest of the Baron's family. The protagonist, Candide, a child of "the most unaffected simplicity", whose face is "the index of his mind", is drawn romantically to Cunégonde.
   Dr. Pangloss, professor of "métaphysico-théologo-cosmolonigologie" and self-proclaimed Optimist, may have been based on Louisa Dorothea von Meiningen, duchess of Saxe-Gotha, a Leibnizian with whom Voltaire corresponded regularly. The name "Pangloss" is derived from the Greek words πᾶν (all) and γλῶσσα (tongue). Pangloss teaches his pupils that they live in the "best of all possible worlds" ("ce meilleur des mondes possibles") and that "all is for the best" ("tout est au mieux"). Candide believes him, for he thinks he's very lucky.
   All is well, until Cunégonde accidentally sees Pangloss sexually engaged with Paquette in some bushes. Encouraged by this show of affection, Cunégonde drops her handkerchief next to Candide, enticing him to kiss her. For this infraction, Candide is evicted from the castle, at which point he's captured by Bulgar recruiters and coerced into military service. For attempted desertion, Candide is flogged and nearly executed, before engaging in a large battle between the Bulgars and the Abares. Candide successfully escapes military service and makes his way to Holland where he's given aid by Jacques, an Anabaptist, who restores Candide's Optimism. Soon after, Candide is taking a walk when he finds his master Pangloss, now a beggar with syphilis.
   Pangloss reveals he was infected with this disease by Paquette and shocks Candide by relating how Castle Thunder-ten-Tronckh was destroyed by Bulgars; Cunégonde and her whole family were killed. Pangloss is cured of his illness by Jacques, losing only one eye and one ear in the process. Then the three sail to Lisbon on business. However, just at the end of their journey, they're overtaken by a vicious storm which destroys the boat. The only survivors are Pangloss, Candide, and a brutish sailor who threw Jacques into the water after he'd saved him. Almost as soon as they set foot in Lisbon, the city is hit by an earthquake, tsunami and fire which kill tens of thousands. The murderous sailor enjoys himself in the carnage by robbing a corpse and using the silver to get drunk and purchase prostitutes.
   Candide and Pangloss are arrested by the Portuguese Inquisition for their uncommon philosophy, and set to be executed in an "auto-da-fé," a ceremony designed to publicly eliminate heretics to appease God and prevent another disaster. Candide is flogged, and sees Pangloss hanged. Another earthquake follows. Candide is then approached by an "old woman", (Fr. vieille), who asks him to follow her.
   The old woman takes Candide to a house where Lady Cunégonde waits, alive. Candide's love proceeds to relate what happened to her. Bulgars raided her castle, killed her family, raped and stabbed her. Cunégonde was rescued by a captain who killed her rapist. The captain then sold her to a Don Issachar, a Jewish merchant and banker. This man was forced by a Grand Inquisitor to share her. Distressed Cunégonde had her servant, the old lady, bring Candide to her. Candide kills both the Issachar and the Inquisitor; then he escapes with Cunégonde and the old lady to Cadiz.

Chapters X–XX

The trio embarks for the port at Buenos Aires. While on the boat, the old woman claims that compared to her, the other two know nothing of suffering, and when Cunégonde replies by detailing the list of horrors she's had to endure, the old woman begins her own story and how she came to be a servant of the Don Issachar. In Buenos Aires, the governor Don Fernando de Ibaraa, y Figueora, y Mascarenes, y Lampurdos, y Suza, asks to marry Cunégonde. Just then, a ship arrives looking to burn Candide at the stake for killing the Grand Inquisitor.
   Candide escapes by following the advice of his manservant, Cacambo (from the Spanish word "caca") who leads him to Paraguay. Cacambo is a very practical valet of diverse ethnic background. At a border post on the way, Cacambo and Candide speak to the commandant, who turns out to be Cunégonde's brother. This brother explains how he was saved by Jesuits and came to be there. The character of this brother is likely based on Frederick the Great, the King of Prussia, with whom Voltaire corresponded.
   When Candide proclaims he intends to marry Cunégonde, the brother is enraged and strikes Candide with the flat of his sword. Candide kills his attacker, steals his robe and flees with Cacambo. In their flight, Candide and Cacambo come across two naked women being chased and bitten by a pair of monkeys. Candide, seeking to protect the women, shoots and kills the monkeys, but is informed by Cacambo that, given the area they're in, it's probably not unlikely that the monkeys and women were lovers.
   Candide and Cacambo wander on to the land of El Dorado, a geographically isolated utopia where the streets are covered with precious stones, there are no priests, and all of the king's jokes are funny. Candide and Cacambo stay a month in El Dorado, but Candide is still in pain without Cunégonde, and expresses to the king his wish to leave. The king points out that this is a foolish idea, but helps them leave. The pair continue their journey, though now accompanied by one hundred red pack sheep carrying provisions and incredible sums of money.
   The sheep die, a few at a time, until only two sheep are left. Candide and Cacambo reach Surinam, where they split up: Cacambo goes to Buenos Aires to retrieve Lady Cunégonde, and Candide travels to Venice to wait for his arrival. Candide's remaining sheep are stolen, and Candide is fined heavily by a Dutch magistrate. Candide finds a ship to take him to Bordeaux, and despairingly hires a companion with whom to travel: a scholar from Amsterdam, who in Candide's eyes deserves charity.

Chapters XX–XXX

This scholar, Martin, discusses Pangloss's philosophy with Candide and reveals that he himself is a Manichean from Amsterdam. Martin represents a chief opponent of Leibniz, the pessimist Pierre Bayle. While on the ship to France, Candide and Martin witness the destruction of the ship which carried the stolen red sheep. Candide recovers one sheep from the sinking vessel. For the remainder of the voyage, Martin and Candide argue about philosophy, and Martin relates his negative opinions of Paris and the various provinces of France.
   Candide and Martin stay in Paris. Candide takes ill and nearly dies, and upon his recovery a marquise undertakes an elaborate plot to swindle Candide of what money he still has. The plot fails and Candide and Martin flee France for England and then Venice.
   There, Candide and Martin meet Paquette, the chambermaid who so long ago infected Pangloss with his syphilis. She is now a prostitute, and she's spending her time with a monk, Brother Giroflée. Though they appear happy on the surface, they reveal their despair: Paquette has led a miserable existence as a sexual object, and the monk detests the religious order in which he was indoctrinated. Candide gives 3000 piasters to the pair in an effort to ease their pain, though Martin suggests that this will only wind up making them unhappier.
   Candide and Martin visit the wealthy nobleman Signor Pococurante (meaning "taking little care" in Italian) in his palace. This man is surrounded by beautiful girls, wonderful paintings, books and music which greatly impress Candide. Pococurante, however, is unimpressed with it all: he finds no pleasure in anything, for he sees only faults.
   Later, while Candide and Martin are eating supper, Cacambo returns and tells them that Cunégonde is in Constantinople, and that she's been enslaved. In the twenty-seventh chapter, Candide, Martin and Cacambo reunited, board a ship to Constantinople, on which Cacambo relates Cunégonde's status: she's washing dishes for a prince of Transylvania, and she's become ugly. On the way to rescue her, Candide again finds Pangloss and Lady Cunégonde's brother the baron rowing the galley. Candide buys their freedom and further passage at steep prices.
   The baron and Pangloss relate their survival stories which, despite their horrors have not shaken Pangloss's Optimism. According to the philosopher, "I still hold to my original opinions, because, after all, I'm a philosopher, and it wouldn't be proper for me to recant, since Leibniz can't be wrong, and since preestablished harmony is the most beautiful thing in the world, along with the plenum and subtle matter."
   The travelers arrive in Transylvania where they rejoin Cunégonde and the old woman, the former of whom has truly become hideously ugly; Candide nevertheless buys their freedom and marries Cunégonde to spite her brother. Paquette and Brother Giroflée, too, are reconciled with Candide on his farm, the only property left.
   One day, the protagonists seek out a dervish known as a great philosopher of the land. Pangloss asks why Man is made to suffer so, and what they all ought to do. The dervish responds by asking why Pangloss is concerned about the existence of evil and good. Pangloss is clueless and can't grasp the dervish's point. The dervish continues by describing human beings as mice on a ship sent by a king to Egypt; their comfort doesn't matter to the king. Pangloss is still oblivious, and the dervish responds by slamming his door on the group.
   Returning to their farm, Candide, Pangloss and Martin meet a Turk whose philosophy is to devote life to work and not concern oneself to external affairs. He and his four children work a small farm to keep "free of three great evils: boredom, vice and necessity". Struck by this statement, Candide concludes that all he knows is that "we must cultivate our garden." Candide, Pangloss, Martin, Cunégonde, Paquette, the old woman and Brother Giroflée all set to work (on this "louable dessein", "commendable plan", as the narrator calls it), each to one specific task. Candide ignores Pangloss's insistence that all turned out for the best by necessity, and is resolved only that "we must cultivate our garden".

Style and themes

As Voltaire himself described it, the purpose of Candide was to "bring amusement to a small number of men of wit". The author achieves this goal, according to literary analysts, by combining his sharp wit with a fun parody of the classic adventure-romance plot. As the initially naïve protagonist eventually comes to a mature conclusion – however noncommittal – the novella is bildungsroman, or at least a parody of one. Candide is confronted with horrible events described in painstaking detail so often that it becomes humorous. Frances K. Barasch, literary analyst, described Voltaire's matter-of-fact narrative as treating topics such as mass death "as coolly as a weather report". The fast-paced and improbable plot – in which characters repeatedly narrowly escape death and otherwise defy traditional reason – allows for compounding tragedies to befall the same characters over and over again. In the end, Candide is primarily, as described by Voltaire's biographer Ian Davidson, "short, light, rapid and humorous".

Satire

The main method of Candide's satire is to ironically contrast great tragedy and comedy by juxtaposing them. The book doesn't invent or exaggerate evils of the world; it only displays real ones starkly, allowing Voltaire to simplify subtle philosophies and cultural traditions, highlighting their flaws. Thus Candide derides Optimism, for instance, with a deluge of horrible, historical (or at least plausible) events with no apparent redeeming qualities.
A simple example of the satire of Candide is seen in the treatment of the historical event witnessed by Candide and Martin in Portsmouth harbour. There, the duo spy an admiral being executed for failing to properly engage a French fleet. The admiral is blindfolded and shot in the head on the deck of his own boat, merely "to encourage the others." This depiction of military punishment trivialises Byng's death. The dry, pithy explanation thus satirises a serious historical event in characteristic fashion.
Voltaire depicts the worst of the world and his pathetic hero's desperate effort to fit it into his Optimistic outlook. Much of the work is a treatment of evil. Rarely does Voltaire diverge from this technique, but there's at least one notable exception: his description of El Dorado, a fantastic village in which the inhabitants are simply rational, and their society is just and reasonable. The positivity of El Dorado may be contrasted with the pessimistic attitude of the majority of the book.

Picaresque

Another element of the satire focuses on what William F. Bottiglia calls the "sentimental foibles of the age" and Voltaire's attack on them. Flaws in European culture are highlighted in the style with which Candide parodies adventure and romance in partial mimicry of the preceding centuries' picaresque novel. A number of archetypal characters thus have recognizable manifestations in Voltaire's work: Candide is the drifting rogue of low social class; Cunégonde is the object of Candide's sexual interest; Pangloss is the knowledgeable mentor to the main character; Cacambo is the typical valet of the genre. Of course, Candide isn't a rogue, Cunégonde becomes ugly and Pangloss is painted to be a fool: the characters of Candide are described as unrealistic, two-dimensional, mechanized, and even marionette-like; they're simplistic and stereotypical.

The Garden Motif

Gardens are thought by many critics to play a critical symbolic role in Candide. The first garden commonly identified is the castle of the Baron, from which Candide and Cunégonde are evicted much in the same fashion as Adam and Eve are in the book of Book of Genesis. Cyclically, the main characters of Candide conclude the novel in a garden of their own making, one which might represent celestial paradise. The third most prominent "garden" is El Dorado, which may be symbolically a false Eden. Other intermediary gardens may be seen in the Jesuit pavilion, the garden of Pococurante, Cacambo's garden, and the Turk's garden. These gardens share biblical references and are each symbolically significant. It has also been proposed that the gardens refer to the Encyclopédie, and that Candide's conclusion to cultivate his garden symbolizes Voltaire's great support for this endeavour.
One of the many interpretations of Candide is that the novella's resolution that gardening is essential refers to the necessary occupation of Candide and his companions with feeding themselves. There was also meaning for the author personally: Voltaire himself was a gardener at his estates in Les Délices and Ferney.

Philosophy

Optimism

Candide satirizes various philosophical and religious theories that Voltaire had previously criticized. Primary among these is Leibnizian Optimism, which Voltaire ridicules with seemingly endless calamity. In this process, Voltaire demonstrates a variety of irredeemable evils in the world, leading many critics to contend that Voltaire's treatment of evil – specifically the theological problem of its existence – is the main focus of the work. Heavily referenced in the text are the Lisbon earthquake, disease, and the sinking of ships in storms. War, thievery, and murder – evils of human design – are explored as extensively in Candide as environmental ills. William Bottiglia, author of many published works on Candide, notes Voltaire is "comprehensive" in his enumeration of the world's evils. He is unrelenting in attacking Optimism.
Fundamental to Voltaire's attack is the respected tutor Pangloss, a self-proclaimed follower of Leibniz and a teacher of his doctrine. Ridicule of Pangloss's theories thus ridicules Leibniz himself, and Pangloss's reasoning is silly at best. For example, Pangloss's first teachings of the narrative absurdly mix up cause and effect:
Tout est pour le mieux", and proceeds to "justify" the evil event's occurrence. A characteristic example of such theodicy is found in Pangloss's explanation of why it's good that syphilis exists:
This critique seems to be directed almost exclusively at Leibniz and his sect of Optimism. Candide doesn't ridicule Voltaire's contemporary Alexander Pope, a later Optimist of slightly different convictions. Indeed, Candide doesn't discuss Pope's Optimistic principle that "all is right", but Leibniz's that states, "this is the best of all possible worlds". However subtle the difference between the two, Candide is unambiguous as to which is its subject. Some critics conjecture that Voltaire actually meant to spare Pope this ridicule out of respect, although Voltaire's Poème may have been written for Pope. This latter work, while similar to Candide in subject, and written just before it, is very different from it in style: the former embodies a more serious philosophical argument than the latter.

Conclusion

The conclusion of the novella, in which Candide finally dismisses his tutor's Optimism, leaves unresolved what philosophy is to be believed in its stead. This element of Candide has been written about voluminously, perhaps above all others. The conclusion is enigmatic and its analysis is contentious – probably intentionally so. Voltaire develops no formal, systematic philosophy for the characters to adopt. The conclusion of the novel may be thought of not as a philosophical alternative to Optimism, but as a prescribed practical outlook (though what it prescribes is in dispute). Furthermore, some believe Candide's final resolve is the same as Voltaire's, and see a strong connection between the development of the protagonist and his author. Some, though, disagree with this assertion, arguing instead that tending one's garden isn't advocated at all, and that Candide's determination isn't Voltaire's. Others critics believe that Martin is treated sympathetically, and that he represents the ideal philosophy of Candide—pessimism. Others disagree, citing Voltaire's negative description of Martin's principles and the conclusion of the work in which Martin becomes passive.
Another of the primary Candide debates concerns the degree to which Voltaire was advocating a pessimistic philosophy, by which Candide and his companions give up hope for a better world, as compared to a melioristic philosophy which resigns the travelers to commit themselves to improving the world through metaphorical gardening. There is debate as to whether Voltaire was prescribing passive retreat from society, or active industrious contribution to it.

Inside/outside controversy

Separate from the debate about the text's conclusion is the "Inside/outside" controversy. This argument centers on the matter of whether or not Voltaire was actually prescribing anything. Roy Wolper, professor emeritus of English, argues in a revolutionary 1969 paper that Candide doesn't necessarily speak for its author; that the work should be viewed as a narrative independent of Voltaire's history; and that its message is entirely (or mostly) inside it. This point of view, the "inside", specifically rejects attempts to find Voltaire's "voice" in the many characters of Candide and his other works. Indeed, writers have seen Voltaire as speaking through at least Candide, Martin and the Turk. Wolper argues that Candide should be read with a minimum of speculation as to its meaning in Voltaire's personal life. His article ushered in a new era of Voltaire studies, causing many scholars to look at the novel differently.
Critics such as Lester Crocker, Henry Stavan, and Vivienne Mylne find too many similarities between Candide's point of view and that of Voltaire to accept the "inside" view. For instance, some for the opposing "outside" view believe that the isolationist philosophy of the Old Turk closely mirrors that of Voltaire. Others see a strong parallel between Candide's gardening activities at the conclusion and the habits of the author. Martine Darmon Meyer argues that insiders fail to see the satirical work in context, and that denying that Candide is primarily a mockery of Optimism (a matter of historical context) is a "very basic betrayal of the text".

Reception and legacy

Though Voltaire didn't openly admit to having written the controversial Candide until 1768 (until then he signed with a pseudonym: "Monsieur le docteur Ralph", or "Doctor Ralph"), his authorship of the work was hardly disputed. Immediately after publication, the work and its author were denounced by both secular and religious authorities, because the book openly derides church and government alike. Nevertheless, soon after its publication, its irreverent prose was being quoted: "Let us eat a Jesuit". By the end of February 1759, The Great Council of Geneva and the administrators of Paris had banned it. Candide nevertheless succeeded in selling 20,000–30,000 copies by the end of the year in over twenty editions, making it a best-seller. The Duke de La Vallière speculated near the end of January 1759 that Candide might have been the fastest-selling book ever. In 1762, Candide was listed in the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, the Catholic Church's list of prohibited books. Candide is the most widely read of Voltaire's many works, and it's considered one of the great achievements of Western literature. However, Candide isn't necessarily considered a true "classic". According to Bottiglia, "The physical size of Candide, as well as Voltaire's attitude toward his fiction, precludes the achievement of artistic dimension through plenitude, autonomous '3D' vitality, emotional resonance, or poetic exaltation. Candide, then, can't in quantity of quality, measure up to the supreme classics." Bottiglia instead calls it a miniature classic, though others are more forgiving of its size. As the only work of Voltaire which has stood the test of time, Candide is listed in The Western Canon: The Books and School of the Ages. It has been named one of the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die and one of the 100 Most Influential Books Ever Written. It is included in the Encyclopædia Britannica collection Great Books of the Western World.(External Link

) Candide has had a significant influence on modern writers of black humor such as Céline, Joseph Heller, John Barth, Thomas Pynchon, Kurt Vonnegut, and Terry Southern. Its parody and picaresque methods have become favorites of black humorists. Candide also inspired artists and musicians over the centuries.

Adaptations and derivative works

Seconde partie (Part two)

In 1760, one year after Voltaire published Candide, a sequel to his novella was published with the name Candide, ou l'optimisme, seconde partie. This was attributed both to Thorel de Campigneulles, "a now largely unknown writer of third-rate moralising novels", and Henri Joseph Du Laurens, who is suspected of having habitually plagiarised Voltaire. The story continues in this sequel with Candide having new adventures in the Ottoman Empire, Persia, and Denmark. The work has potential use in studies of the popular and literary receptions of Candide.

Bernstein's operetta

Leonard Bernstein, a American composer and conductor, wrote the music to an operetta based on Voltaire's Candide. It was originally conceived by playwright Lillian Hellman, as a play with incidental music. Bernstein, however, was so excited about this idea that he convinced Hellman to do it as a "comic operetta". Many lyricists worked on the show, including James Agee, then Dorothy Parker, John Latouche, Richard Wilbur, Leonard and Felicia Bernstein, and Hellman. Hershy Kay orchestrated all the pieces except the overture, which Bernstein did himself. Candide, the operetta, first opened on Broadway as a musical on December 1, 1956. The premiere production was directed by Tyrone Guthrie and conducted by Samuel Krachmalnick. While this production was a box office flop, the music was highly praised, and an original cast album was made. This album gradually became a cult hit. But Hellman's libretto was criticized in a The New York Times review as being too serious an adaptation of Voltaire's novel. Candide would succeed seventeen years later with a new libretto by Hugh Wheeler.

Others

Candido ovvero un sogno fatto in Sicilia or simply Candido is a work by Leonardo Sciascia which was based on Voltaire's book. The actual influence of Candide on Candido is, however, a hotly debated topic. A number of theories on the matter have been proposed. One says that Candido is Candide with a happy ending; another claims that Voltaire provided Sciascia with only a starting point from which to work. Candido was published in 1977 in Torino.
   Nedim Gürsel wrote his 2001 novel Le voyage de Candide à Istanbul about a minor passage in Candide where its protagonist meets in passing Ahmed III, the deposed Turkish sultan. This chance meeting on a ship from Venice to Istanbul is the setting of Gürsel's book.
   Other adaptations of Candide include a modern version in X Out of Wonderland (2005) by David Allan Cates.There is also Fanfluche (1892) by Quatrelles. In addition, Candide was made into a number of minor films and theatrical adaptations throughout the 20th century. For a list of these, see Voltaire: Candide ou L'Optimisme et autres contes (1989) with preface and commentaries by Pierre Malandain.
   The surreal film O Lucky Man! directed by Lindsay Anderson in 1973, about a young idealist who tries to ignore the evils of the world, is often considered a reappropriation of Candide.
   The plotline of the 1958 novel Candy is based on Candide.