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For the Bernstein operetta based on the book, see Candide (operetta).
Candide, or Optimism
Frontispiece of the 1759 edition published by Sirène in Paris
This is the frontispiece of the 1759 edition published by Sirène in Paris. It reads, "Candide, or Optimism. Translated from the German of Dr. Ralph."
AuthorVoltaire
Original titleCandide, ou l'Optimisme
IllustratorJean-Michel Moreau le Jeune; Paul Klee[1]
LanguageFrench
GenreSatire, Picaresque novel[specify]
Publisher1759: Cramer, Marc-Michel Rey, Jean Nourse, Lambert, and others
Publication date
January 1759[2][3]
Publication placeFrance France
Media typePrint
ISBNISBN 0-553-21166-8 Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character

Candide, ou l'Optimisme (1759) is a French-language satire by the Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire.[3] In English translation, Candide, ou l'Optimisme has been published under various titles including Candide: Or, All for the Best (1759); Candide: Or, The Optimist (1762); and Candide: Or, Optimism (1947).[4] Candide tells the tale of a naive man, Candide (meaning "ingenuous"[5]), who has been taught to believe in Leibnizian Optimism but becomes disillusioned after undergoing a series of extraordinary hardships in the course of a luckless odyssey. Within the framework of a plot similar to that of the more serious picaresque novel or bildungsroman, Candide parodies many adventure and romance cliches. The novella's pace is quick, its mood is breezy, and its tone is mordantly matter-of-fact. and jessie is not the cool

Candide, Voltaire's magnum opus,[6] is one of the most popular literary works of all time, and is thus the subject of much literary criticism, some of it quite esoteric. Its biting wit and insightful portrayal of the human condition make it especially memorable and influential.[7] Candide is widely considered to be one of the most significant works of the Western canon for its enduring popularity and influence. It also has often been mimicked in more modern literary works and adapted for the stage. One such adaptation is Leonard Bernstein's operetta, which first appeared in 1956.

Through the allegory of Candide, Voltaire pokes fun at religion and theologians, governments and armies, philosophies and philosophers.[6] He comprehensively, if not systematically, enumerates all the evils of the world to make fun of the philosophical doctrine of Optimism, skewering various other sacred cows along the way. He discusses many evils, but two stand out—the 1755 Lisbon earthquake and the Seven Years' War—both of which helped motivate Voltaire to write Candide.

Publication

History

Writing

It is unknown exactly when Voltaire wrote Candide,[8] but scholars estimate that it was primarily composed in late 1758, though Voltaire may have begun it as early as 1757.[9] 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. There is, despite solid evidence for the foregoing assertions, a popular legend 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.[10][11] In fact, the evidence indicates strongly that Candide was not rushed or improvised but was worked on for a significant period of time, maybe a whole year. This implies that the work was intellectually mature and well thought out, not impromptu, as the choppy plot and the aforementioned myth suggest.[12]

Candide underwent one major revision after its initial publication: in 1761, a version of Candide was published which included, in addition to many minor tweaks, a major addition by Voltaire to the twenty-second chapter, a chapter that had been thought weak by the Duke of Vallière.[13] The title of this edition was, in English, 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.[14] The last edition of Candide which was authorized by Voltaire was the one published in 1775 by Cramer, called l'édition encadrée because the text was set within a frame.[15]

Publication

The date of publication, too, is uncertain, although it is thought that Voltaire had Candide published in early 1759 simultaneously in five countries.[3] More precisely, Candide was published no later than January 15, and probably before then.[16] No less than seventeen versions of Candide from 1759 are known today, and there has been great controversy over which is the earliest.[3]

The complicated science of calculating the relative publication dates of all of the published versions is described at length in I.O. Wade's article "The First Edition of Candide: A Problem of Identification", which was published in the Princeton University Library Chronicle, volume XX, number 2, in the winter of 1959. The publication process was extremely secretive owing to the potentially controversial nature of the material; it likely was the "most clandestine work of the century".[17] 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.[17] It was translated once into Italian and thrice into English the same year.[18]

Reception

Though Voltaire did not openly admit to having written the controversial Candide until 1768 (he signed with a pseudonym: "Monsieur le docteur Ralph", or "Doctor Ralph"[19]), his authorship of the work was hardly disputed. Immediately after publication, the work, and its author, were denounced by secular and religious authorities alike.[20]

By the end of February 1759, The Great Council of Geneva and the administrators of Paris had banned it.[3] 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 of the time. The Duke de La Vallière speculated near the end of January 1759 that Candide might have been the fastest-selling book ever.[21] In 1762, Candide was listed in the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, the Catholic Church's list of prohibited books.[3]

Manuscripts

There is currently (2007) only one extant manuscript of Candide that was written before the work's 1759 publication. For almost two hundred years, there was a legend that there existed an early manuscript of Candide that was once owned by the Duchess de La Vallière.[22] In 1956, Ira O. Wade, a noted expert on Voltaire and Candide, discovered this manuscript, since named the La Vallière Manuscript. This manuscript is believed to have been sent, chapter by chapter, by Voltaire himself to the Duke and Duchess before the novella's publication in the autumn of 1758.[3] The manuscript was sold to the Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal in the late 1700s, where it remained undiscovered for almost 200 years.[23] This manuscript, the most original and authentic of all surviving editions, was likely dictated by Voltaire to a secretary, Wagnière.[24] Copies were also sent to Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour.[25] This discovery precipitated Wade's writing of Voltaire and Candide: A Study in the Fusion of History, Art and Philosophy, which was published in 1959.[26]

In addition to this manuscript, there is 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 first supposed by Norman L. Torrey in 1929.[27][22]

Illustrations

This image is an 1803 illustration of the scene where Candide shoots the two monkeys. The drawing is by Moreau; the engraving by Ghendt.

Voltaire strongly opposed the inclusion of illustrations in his works, as stated in a letter from him to Charles Joseph Panckoucke in 1778; he wrote, "these baubles have never been allowed in the works of Cicero, Virgil and Horace."[28] Neveretheless, two sets of illustrations for Candide were done in 1787 by French artist Jean-Michel Moreau le Jeune. The first version was done, at Moreau's own expense, for Kehl's publication of that year, Oeuvres Complètes de Voltaire.[28] Four images were drawn by Moreau for this edition; these were engraved by Pierre-Charles Baquoy.[29] The second version, of 1803, consisted of seven drawings by Moreau; these were transposed by multiple engravers. This collection was included in the 1819 publication by Renouard.[30]

Plot and structure

Candide is organized into thirty chapters. As noted by Ervin Beck and Elizabeth Cooney Leister, the novella may be divided into three equal parts, each comprising ten chapters and defined by its setting: I–X take place in Europe, XI–XX are in America, and XXI–XXX are in Europe and the Ottoman Empire.[31][32] Some take this view; others see the book divided 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. This theme becomes strongest after he leaves El Dorado and seeks out his love directly (having found her alive). Earlier, Candide wanders rather aimlessly.[33]

Character list

The characters of Candide have been described as unrealistic, two-dimensional, mechanized, and even marionette-like.[34] The following list includes the protagonist (Candide) and those characters who travel with him for a significant portion of the tale; there are a number of minor characters that are not here mentioned.

  • Candide is the protagonist of Candide, a bastard child of "the most unaffected simplicity", whose face is "the index of his mind".[35]
  • Cunégonde, the Baron's daughter, is also Candide's cousin and love interest. She is thought to be modeled after both of Voltaire's mistresses: his niece Marie Louise Mignot Denis and the scientist Émilie du Châtelet. Cunégonde may be associated symbolically with Eve.[36]
  • Dr. Pangloss tutors Candide and Cunégonde as a professor of métaphysico-théologo-cosmolonigologie. His character may have been based on Louisa Dorothea von Meiningen, duchess of Saxe-Gotha, a Leibnizian with whom Voltaire had much correspondence.[37] The name "Pangloss" is derived from the Greek words pan and gloss, together meaning "all words".[38]
  • Cacambo is Candide's very practical valet of diverse ethnic background. His name is derived from the Spanish word caca, which means feces.[39]
  • Martin is Candide's traveling companion, a Manichaean. Some critics believe that Martin is treated sympathetically, 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.[40]
  • Paquette is a maid for Cunégonde's family who gives syphilis to Pangloss and prostitutes herself in Venice.[41] Her name is similar to the French word for "daisy".[38]
  • The old woman (Fr. la vieille) is Cunégonde's servant. She is the daughter of a fictional pope Urban X and a princess of Palestrina. She has had one buttock cut off by starving soldiers under siege.[41]
  • Jacques the Anabaptist, Candide's Dutch and Anabaptist benefactor for chapters III–V. Jacques, whose name is usually translated "Jacob" or "James", is usually considered the selfless person of the novel. He drowns after saving another man.[42]
  • Cunégonde's brother, never named, is a Jesuit and a colonel. He is believed to have been based partly on Frederick the Great, with whom Voltaire corresponded.[43]

Summary

The tale begins in the castle of the Baron Thunder-ten-tronckh in Westphalia, home to the Baron's naive bastard nephew Candide and the Baron's daughter, Lady Cunégonde. The philosopher Dr. Pangloss, tutor to Candide and Cunégonde, teaches his students that they live in the "best of all possible worlds" ("ce meilleur des mondes possibles") and, furthermore, that "all is for the best" ("tout est au mieux"). These are primary tenets of Leibnizian Optimism. Candide is evicted from the castle after kissing Cunégonde. Candide, forced to travel extensively, endures a number of extremely unfortunate hardships, and witnesses worse, yet holds on to his Optimism for a comically long period of time.

Candide serves in the army and there is flogged, almost burned in an auto-da-fé, and nearly killed in the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. In Candide's absence, the baron's castle is ransacked by Bulgars, Cunégonde is raped and stabbed, and her family is killed. Candide is temporarily reunited with Cunégonde, who has miraculously survived, but immediately thereafter Candide is forced to kill a Jew and an Inquisitor who shared her as slave masters.[41]

This image is a 1787 illustration of the scene where Candide and Cacambo meet the maimed slave of the sugar mill near Surinam. The drawing is by Moreau; the engraving by Baquoy.

Cunégonde, her servant, and Candide steal away to Buenos Aires and the New World. They are, however, tracked, and they are forced to flee. Candide's manservant, Cacambo, appears and leads his master to Paraguay without his love, Cunégonde. 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.[41]

When Candide proclaims that he intends to marry Cunégonde, the brother grows angry and strikes Candide with the flat of his sword. Candide stabs his attacker, steals his robe, and flees with Cacambo, greatly distressed. The two wander into 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.[44] They stay for a month before parting with one hundred red sheep laden with riches. All but two of the sheep perish soon after this departure. In Surinam, the duo split up: Cacambo is to go to Buenos Aires to rescue Lady Cunégonde and then rendezvous with Candide in Venice.

In Bordeaux, on the way to Italy, Candide meets Martin, a Manichean from Amsterdam who accompanies him on the rest of his journey. Candide and Martin meet up with Cacambo in Venice after a series of adventures in France, where Candide is swindled multiple times, and in England, where Candide and Martin witness the execution of an admiral, designed by his superiors "to encourage the others". Cacambo explains that Cunégonde is in Constantinople, so it is to there that they travel. En route, Cacambo relates Cunégonde's status: she is washing dishes for a Prince of Transylvania, and she has become ugly. On the way to rescue her, Candide finds Pangloss and Lady Cunégonde's brother, now baron, alive and rowing the galley.[41]

The Baron and Pangloss relate their survival stories, which despite their horrors have not shaken Pangloss's Optimism. According to Pangloss, "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 cannot be wrong, and since preestablished harmony is the most beautiful thing in the world, along with the plenum and subtle matter."[45] The travelers arrive in Transylvania where they rejoin Cunégonde and the old woman. Candide 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 to the protagonist, who was once the richest man in Europe.

Returning to their farm, Candide, Pangloss and Martin meet a Turk who teaches a philosophy that is non-existent. He and his four children work a small farm to keep "free of three great evils: boredom, vice and poverty". 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 "commendable plan"), each to one specific task. Candide ignores Pangloss's insistence that all turned out for the best by necessity, and is resolved only that "it is necessary to cultivate our garden".[46]

Style

As Voltaire himself described it, his purpose in composing Candide was to "bring amusement to a small number of men of wit".[35] Voltaire achieves this aim by combining his sharp wit with a fun parody of the classic adventure-romance plot. Candide on his foolish adventure is confronted with horrible events described in painstaking detail so often it is humourous. Voltaire's matter-of-fact narrative treats topics such as mass death "as coolly as a weather report", as described by Frances K. Barasch. The fast-paced and impossible plot, in which characters come back from the dead and otherwise defy traditional logic, allows for many compounded tragedies to befall the same unfortunate characters over and over again in a short span of text.[47] In the end, Candide is primarily, as described by Ian Davidson, biographer of Voltaire, "short, light, rapid and humorous".[6][48]

Satire

The main method of Candide's satire is to ironically contrast great tragedy and hilarity by juxtaposing them.[6] Candide does not invent or exaggerate evils of the world, it only displays real ones starkly, allowing Voltaire to simplify subtle philosophies and cultural traditions and thereby highlight their flaws.[49] Thus does Candide deride Optimism, for instance, with a compounding deluge of plausible, yet horrible, events with no apparent redeeming qualities.[35][50]

Primarily, Voltaire depicts the worst of the world and his pathetic hero's desperate effort to fit it into his optimistic outlook. Indeed, the majority of the work is a treatment of evil. Rarely does Voltaire diverge from this technique, but there is 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. This positive method of describing the ideal of El Dorado may be contrasted with the pessimistic attitude of the majority of the book.[35][51]

Picaresque

The second part of the satire of Candide focuses on what William F. Bottiglia calls the "sentimental foibles of the age" and Voltaire's attack on them.[52] Flaws in European culture are highlighted in the style with which Candide parodies adventure and romance in partial mimicry of the picaresque novel of the preceding centuries.[53] 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.[35]

In that the initially naive protagonist at the end of the novel eventually comes to a mature conclusion, however noncommittal it is, the novella may be considered a bildungsroman, or at least a parody of one.[54]

Inspiration and influences

A number of significant historical events and literary works preceding the publication of Candide have been deemed by analysts to have inspired Voltaire to write it. Not least among them are the Seven Years' War and the 1755 Lisbon Earthquake. Indeed, both of these are alluded to often in the text of Candide.[55] It is thought by Ira Wade that Voltaire's primary source for information on the earthquake was the 1755 work Relation historique du tremlement de terre survenu à Lisbonne le premier novembre by Ange Goudar, which not only described the event but conjectured as to its philosophical meaning.[56] But however significant the Lisbon earthquake was to Voltaire, it was not the sole impetus for the writing of Candide, nor was any other single historical event.[55]

Another potential source of inspiration may be derived specifically from the stereotypical German personality of the time, which, as described by Alfred Owen Aldridge, biographer of Voltaire, included "extreme credulousness or sentimental simplicity".[54] Thus are there thought to be significant parallels between Candide and Simplicius Simplicissimus, the 1669 novel by Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen.[54]

But Candide's closest literary relative is widely thought to be Gulliver's Travels, which probably served at least as a partial model for Voltaire (especially concerning the method of satire). In Candide's capacity for parody of the genre of the bildungsroman, it most likely is based on François Fénelon's The Adventures of Telemachus.[35] Another probable source for Candide is Cosmopolite (1753) by Fougeret de Monbron.[57]

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.[6]
  • 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 the skin colour that they do.[58]

Themes

Optimism

See also: Panglossianism

Candide is a work which satirizes various philosophical and religious theories that Voltaire had previously criticized. Primary of these is Leibnizian Optimism, which Voltaire makes to look absurd in the face of the seemingly endless calamities depicted in the novel.[6] Fundamental to Voltaire's method of lampooning Leibniz and his philosophy is the character of Pangloss, who plays the respected tutor of Candide and Cunégonde. Pangloss is a self-proclaimed follower of Leibniz and a teacher of his doctrine. Ridicule of Pangloss's theories thus ridicules Leibniz himself in turn, and Pangloss's reasoning is silly at best. Even more doggedly than Candide, Pangloss holds to Optimism despite horrendous fortune, reiterating "Tout est pour le mieux dans le meilleur des mondes possibles" (All is for the best in the best of all possible worlds). This phrase illustrates the fundamental tenet of Leibnizian Optimism, and ridicule of the one is ridicule of the other. It is to this optimistic philosophy that Candide adheres for the majority of the story, but with which he eventually breaks.[59]

Notably, Candide does not ridicule Voltaire's contemporary Alexander Pope, an avowed optimist. Instead, the biting wit of Voltaire is directed primarily at the deceased Leibniz. Indeed, Candide does not discuss Pope's optimistic principle that "all is right", but Leibniz's that states that this is the "best of all possible worlds". However subtle the difference between the two, Candide is unambiguous as to which is its subject. It is conjectured that Voltaire actually meant to spare Pope this ridicule, for Voltaire respected Pope. Thus did Voltaire write the Poem for Pope and Candide for Leibniz, the former of which embodies a more serious philosophical argument, and the latter less so.[35]

Evil

As part of his discussion of Optimism in Candide, Voltaire exemplifies many different types of evil in the world. Many critics contend that Voltaire's treatment of evil, specifically the theological problem of its existence, is the main focus of the work.[60] Heavily referenced in the text are the Lisbon earthquake, disease, and the sinking of ships in storms. Of course, ships are also sunk by Man. Indeed, war, thievery, and murder—man-made evils—are treated as extensively in Candide as are environmental ones. As William Bottiglia describes it, Voltaire is "comprehensive" in his enumeration of the world's evils.[61]

Lisbon earthquake

It is worth while to compare Candide to the work of Voltaire that is closest to it in subject and time, yet so very distinct from it in style, Poème sur le désastre de Lisbonne (Poem on the Lisbon Disaster). Both works specifically attack the philosophical doctrine of Optimism and use the evidence of the 1755 Lisbon earthquake against it. This massive earthquake, that occurred on All Saints' Day, had a strong influence on theologians of the day, and on Voltaire, who was thoroughly disillusioned by it, describing it in 1755 as one of the most horrible disasters "in the best of possible worlds".[56][62]

Gardens

Critics have identified symbolic gardens in Voltaire's Candide. The first of these 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 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.[63]

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 the endeavour.[64]

Conclusion

The conclusion of the novella, in which Candide finally dismisses his tutor's Optimism, leaves readers wondering what philosophy is to be believed in its stead. This matter, perhaps above all others of the work, has been written about voluminously.[65] The conclusion, which has the protagonist and his fellow travelers finally settle down under the mantra "we must cultivate our garden" is enigmatic, probably intentionally.

One of the primary 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. This is debate on whether or not Voltaire was prescribing passive retreat from society or active, industrious contribution to it.[66]

Of course, there is not one meaning to Candide but many meanings on many different levels. For instance, there is the literal sense referring to the necessary occupation of Candide and his companion with feeding themselves. There was also meaning for the author personally: Voltaire himself was a gardener at his estates in Les Délices and Ferney.[67][68]

Voltaire develops no formal, systematic philosophy for the characters to adopt, but many philosophical and literary interpretations of the plot exist.[69] Yet he does refute Optimism continuously, albeit artistically, theatrically, and informally. The conclusion of the novel may be thought of not as a philosophical alternative to Optimism, but as a prescribed practical outlook. Furthermore, some see in Candide's final resolve that of Voltaire and see a strong connection between the development of the character and of the author.[70] Some, though, disagree with this assertion, arguing instead that tending one's garden is not advocated at all, and that Candide's determination is not Voltaire's. Indeed, some wonder whether Candide might be considered a bildungsroman.[71]

Inside/outside controversy

Roy Wolper argues in a revolutionary 1969 paper that Candide does not 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, defended by Theodore E. D. Braun (1982), 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 Candide, Martin, the Turk. Wolper argues that Candide should be read with a minimum of speculation as to its meaning in Voltaire's personal life. This article of 1969 ushered in a new era of Voltaire studies in which many scholars look at the novel differently.[72][73]

Critics such as Lester Crocker, Henry Stavan, and Vivienne Mylne see too many similarities between the point of view of Candide and that of Voltaire in his own life to accept Wolper's idea. For instance, some believe that the isolationist philosophy of the Old Turk closely mirrors that of Voltaire. Others see a strong parallel between the gardening activities of the protagonist at the conclusion of Candide and the habits of the author.[74] Martine Darmon Meyer argues, however, that insiders are failing 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".[75][76]

Legacy

Aside from being a successful traditional satire, Candide has had significant influence on modern writers of black humor such as Céline, Heller, Barth, Pynchon, Vonnegut, and Southern. Its parody and picaresque methods have become favorites of black humorists.[77]

Candide is not only the most widely read of Voltaire's many works,[78] it is one of the most popular books in all of Western literature.[specify] It certainly is considered one of the greatest achievements of the Western body of literary works.[79] There is general consensus among experts that Candide should be considered a masterpiece for its artistic and literary excellence.

This should be qualified: Candide is not 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, cannot in quantity of quality, measure up to the supreme classics." Bottiglia instead calls it a miniature one. Others are more forgiving toward its size.[80]

For having been the only work of Voltaire's which has truly stood the test of time,[specify] Candide is listed in The Western Canon: The Books and School of the Ages[1]. It has been named as one of the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die and one of the 100 Most Influential Books Ever Written, and it is included in the collection Great Books of the Western World.[2]

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.[81] 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.[82] 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.[83]

Bernstein's operetta

Main article: Candide (operetta)

Leonard Bernstein, American composer and conductor, wrote the music to an operetta based on Voltaire's Candide.[84]Candide was originally conceived by 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"; she did the original book for the 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 but the overture, which Bernstein did himself.[85]

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.[86] 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, written partly as a reaction to her being blacklisted, was criticized in a The New York Times review as being too serious an adaptation of Voltaire's original novel, which was much more sardonic and humorously ridiculous.[87] But Candide would eventually triumph seventeen years later, with a new libretto by Hugh Wheeler which was much more faithful to both the spirit and the letter of Voltaire.[specify]

Sciascia's Candido

Candido ovvero un sogno fatto in Sicilia or simply Candido is a work by Leonardo Sciascia which was based on Voltaire's Candide, by the author's own admission. The actual influence of Candide on Candido is, however, a hotly debated topic. A number of theories on the matter have been proposed. For one, Candido is Candide with a happy ending; for another, Voltaire provided Sciascia with only a starting point from which to work.[88] Candido was published in 1977 in Torino.[specify]

Gürsel's Le voyage de Candide à Istanbul

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.[89]

Others

  • Candide was made into a number of minor films and theatrical adaptations throughout the 20th century. For a list of these, see page 300 of Voltaire: Candide ou L'Optimisme et autres contes (1989) with preface and commentaries by Pierre Malandain.[91]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Klee, Paul. (2007). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved June 6, 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9045729
  2. ^ Davidson (2005), p. 53
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Williams (1997), p. 1–3
  4. ^ Critical Survey of Short Fiction (2001)
  5. ^ Oxford Color (2004), p. 42
  6. ^ a b c d e f Davidson (2005), p. 54
  7. ^ Leister (1985), p. 120
  8. ^ Wade (1959), p. 65
  9. ^ Torrey (1929), p. 446
  10. ^ Wade (1956), p. 3–4
  11. ^ Havens (1932), p. 225
  12. ^ Wade (1959b), p. 145, 156
  13. ^ Wade (1957), p. 96
  14. ^ Bair (1959
  15. ^ Williams (1997), References
  16. ^ Wade (1959b), p. 182
  17. ^ a b Wade (1959), p. 63–88
  18. ^ Davidson (2005), p. 52–53
  19. ^ Wade (1959b), p. xiii
  20. ^ Ayer (1986), p. 139
  21. ^ Mason (1992), p. 14
  22. ^ a b Wade (1956), p. 3–4
  23. ^ Rouillard (1962)
  24. ^ Wade (1957), p. 94
  25. ^ Davidson (2005), p. 52-53
  26. ^ Oake (1961)
  27. ^ Torrey (1929), p. 445–447
  28. ^ a b Bellhouse (2006), p. 756
  29. ^ Bellhouse (2006), p. 757
  30. ^ Bellhouse (2006), p. 769
  31. ^ Beck (1999), p. 203
  32. ^ Leister (1985), p. 32–33
  33. ^ Williams (1997), p. 26–27
  34. ^ Wade (1959b), p. 303–305
  35. ^ a b c d e f g Aldridge (1975), p. 251–254
  36. ^ Scherr (1993)
  37. ^ Dawson (1986), p. 95
  38. ^ a b Williams (1997), p. 25
  39. ^ Beck (1999), p. 203-4.
  40. ^ Bottiglia (1951), p. 726
  41. ^ a b c d e Ayer (1986), p. 143–145
  42. ^ Scherr (2001), p. 74
  43. ^ Walsh (2001)
  44. ^ Aldridge (1975), p. 254
  45. ^ Voltaire (1959), p. 107–108
  46. ^ Voltaire (1959), p. 113
  47. ^ Starobinski (1976), p. 194
  48. ^ Wade (1959b), p. 133
  49. ^ Starobinski(1976), p. 194
  50. ^ Barasch (1985), p. 3
  51. ^ Barasch (1985), p. 3
  52. ^ Bottiglia (1968), p. 89–92
  53. ^ Bottiglia (1968), p. 89–92
  54. ^ a b c Aldridge (1975), p. 251–254 Cite error: The named reference "aldridge251253" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  55. ^ a b Wade (1959b), p. 88
  56. ^ a b Wade (1959b), p. 93
  57. ^ Wade (1959b), p. 296
  58. ^ Aldridge (1975), p. 255
  59. ^ Radner (1998), p. 669–
  60. ^ Readings on Candide (2001), p. 121
  61. ^ Bottiglia (1951), p. 720
  62. ^ Adorno (1970), p. 361
  63. ^ Readings on Candide (2001), p. 92
  64. ^ Bottiglia (1951), p. 727
  65. ^ Leister (1985), p. 29
  66. ^ Leister (1985), p. 26
  67. ^ Davidson (2005), p. 55
  68. ^ Scherr (1993)
  69. ^ Bottiglia (1951), p. 723–724
  70. ^ Bottiglia (1951), p. 719–720
  71. ^ Wolper (1969)
  72. ^ Braun, Sturzer, Meyer (1988)
  73. ^ Wolper (1969), p. 265–277
  74. ^ Braun, Sturzer & Meyer (1988), p. 569–571
  75. ^ Braun, Sturzer & Meyer (1988), p. 574
  76. ^ Crocker (1971)
  77. ^ Readings on Candide (2001), p. 112–113
  78. ^ Ayer (1986), p. 139
  79. ^ Aldridge (1975), p. 260
  80. ^ Bottiglia (1959), p. 247
  81. ^ Astbury (2005), p. 503
  82. ^ Clark (1993), p. VIII, IX
  83. ^ Astbury (2005), p. 503
  84. ^ Peyser (1987), p. 247
  85. ^ Peyser (1987), p. 248
  86. ^ Peyser (1987), p. 248
  87. ^ Peyser (1987), p. 249–251
  88. ^ Morrison (2002), p. 59
  89. ^ Hitchins (2002), p. 160
  90. ^ Gullette (1934), p. 93–107
  91. ^ Malandain (1989)

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