![]() Candide is expelled from the castle when he is caught kissing Cunégonde. The edition used in this summary is Candide: or, Optimism (2005), translated by Theo Cuffe.Ĭandide opens at the castle of Baron Thunder-ten-tronckh in Westphalia, Germany, where the young Candide is in love with the Baron’s daughter Cunégonde and is taught by their tutor Pangloss that the world is the best of all possible worlds. The success of Voltaire’s satire relies on a dry combination of both witty humor and heartbreaking tragedy to deliver his critique of the human condition. Candide and his traveling companions also engage in frequent philosophical dialogues, debating a range of Enlightenment-era topics. ![]() The text features a series of nested stories, wherein the main storyline pauses while various characters recount their own stories. Candide’s plot is fast moving and picaresque, plays with cliches, and is told by a narrator who does not exaggerate but presents events in a straightforward manner. Candide is regarded as his magnum opus and typically considered part of the Western canon. ![]() Voltaire was a prolific author, using polemic prose to rhetorically engage with contemporary philosophy and social critique. ![]()
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