One day, Cunégonde sees Pangloss having sex with Paquette in some bushes. The young man also has romantic feelings for Lady Cunégonde. Candide unquestioningly believes his tutor. Candide's tutor Pangloss wholeheartedly subscribes to a theory of optimism and teaches Candide that 'all is for the best' and that they live in the 'best of all possible worlds'. He lives in Castle Thunder-ten-Tronkh with the Baron's daughter Lady Cunégonde, the rest of the Baron's family, Paquette the chambermaid and his tutor Dr. 18th century illustration by an unknown artst.Ĭandide is the young illegitimate nephew of a German nobleman called Baron Thunder-ten-Tronckh. The plot also pokes fun at the conventions of romantic and adventure novels. The novel satirizes philosophy, religion, government, the military and other institutions of the day. In spite of all the suffering that he sees, hears about and experiences, Candide clings to his philosophy of optimism for a long time, before eventually deciding that the best way to live is simply to keep busy. He is reunited with, separated from and then reunited again with Pangloss and Cunégonde, who both survive what appears to be certain death. He wanders around Europe and South America, finding misery everywhere (apart from during a brief stay in the fabulous kingdom of El Dorado). Candide consequently suffers many more misfortunes. Candide's comfortable lifestyle suddenly comes to an end one day when he is thrown out of the castle of his uncle the baron, in which he has spent his entire life, for kissing the baron's daughter Lady Cunégonde.

The main character in the novel is a young man named Candide who is born into a life of luxury and is indoctrinated into taking an extremely optimistic view of life by his tutor, Dr. It was first published anonymously in 1759. First pages of an English translation of Candide, published in 1762.Ĭandide (French: Candide, ou l'Optimisme, also published in English as Candide: or, All For the Best, Candide: or, Optimism and Candide: or, The Optimist) is a short comic novel by the French author Voltaire.

Candide illustrations