"Cliff Notes - Candide" - читать интересную книгу автора (Cliff Notes)

This chapter is also relevant to the development of Candide's character. In Chapter 19, in Surinam, Candide was in despair at the greed and dishonesty personified by Vanderdendur and the judge. Now, in Paris, he is again surrounded by greed and dishonesty. He is swindled at every turn. Candide's lack of sophistication makes him the prey of leeches like the abbe. At the end of the chapter, Candide runs from Paris. He is just happy to have escaped.

Martin says little in this chapter, but his remarks are always pointed and apt. What he does express is consistent with his cynical philosophy. He is never surprised at evil. Martin's cynicism and knowledge of human nature allow him to see through a situation like the setup at the end of the chapter. In his ability to size up a situation accurately and find a way out of a sticky problem, he is quite like Cacambo. He seems, in fact, to play a role similar to Cacambo's--as guide and adviser--but with an additional element, that of philosophical mentor and commentator.

^^^^^^^^^^CANDIDE: CHAPTER 23

Chapter 23 is a detour in a literal and figurative sense. England is hardly on the way to Venice, but Voltaire has his characters go out of their way to be able to treat a matter of great concern to him. As Candide and Martin approach Portsmouth Harbor in England, they witness the execution of a British admiral.

NOTE: A similar execution did take place in 1757. British Admiral John Byng was executed after being convicted of failing to engage his ship in a battle against the French near Minorca, Spain, the previous year. Voltaire had personally crusaded to stop the execution. Voltaire often raised his pen in defense of those he deemed oppressed or ill treated. One of the most celebrated cases that engaged his energies was that of Jean Calas, an elderly Protestant who was executed in Toulouse in 1762 for allegedly murdering his own son, (to prevent his conversion to Catholicism). Years later Calas was exonerated but in his "Treatise on Tolerance," Voltaire condemned Calas's wrongful conviction as a "great crime."

The execution of the admiral brings the theme of war to the forefront again. At the beginning of the chapter, when Martin compares the relative craziness of the French and English, he raises the subject of war. He cites the futility of the war between the two countries over Canada, "a few acres of snow," as an indication of mutual insanity. The absurdity of the rules of war can be seen in Candide's observation that, though the French admiral was equally as far from the British admiral as the British was from him, the French admiral was not executed.

Candide is horrified at the admiral's execution and refuses to set foot on shore. He pays the ship's captain to take him directly to Venice, where he will be reunited with his beloved Cunegonde. At the end of this short chapter, Candide's faith in Cacambo and his hope of seeing Cunegonde renew his optimism. It is an optimism, however, based precariously on hope. In Chapter 24, you will see how long it lasts.

^^^^^^^^^^CANDIDE: CHAPTER 24

After several months, Candide and Martin are still in Venice, waiting for Cacambo and Cunegonde. Candide, initially hopeful, begins to despair. He fears that Cunegonde may be dead. Martin believes that Cacambo has run off with the money and advises Candide to forget about Cunegonde and Cacambo.

One day, while walking in town, Candide and Martin meet a happy-looking couple, a pretty girl and a monk. Candide believes that they, at least, must be happy. Naturally, Martin disagrees. To settle their argument, they invite the couple to dinner.

Back at the inn, the girl says that she is Paquette, the baroness's maid and the source of Pangloss's pox. After leaving castle Thunder-ten-tronckh, Paquette was the unhappy mistress of several men. She has now turned to prostitution and is a miserable creature, with no hope for the future. The monk, Brother Giroflee, turns out to be unhappy also, forced into a vocation for which he has no calling and which he detests. Candide admits that he has lost the argument and sends the two off with money. Martin insists that the money will make them only more miserable. Candide and Martin make plans to visit Lord Pococurante, reputedly a happy man.

Candide's hopeful mood at the end of Chapter 23 is waning. After months of fruitless searching and waiting, he is once again sinking into the melancholy and despair he felt in Surinam. Martin's skepticism does nothing to lighten his mood.

Martin's role in this chapter is puzzling. He is Candide's constant companion, but he does little to relieve his friend's unhappiness. In fact, he only increases it. At this point, he seems to be a true counterbalance to Pangloss.

At the beginning of the novel, Pangloss taught Candide that all is for the best. Here, Martin seems to be doing the opposite, trying to teach Candide that all is misery, and that people, without exception, are unhappy. In the case of Pangloss, events constantly proved him wrong. Here, events only seem to reinforce the correctness of Martin's view. Once again it seems that Martin's view of the world is accurate. Or is Voltaire just emphasizing how strong Candide's belief in optimism still is?

Candide and Martin are still testing the old woman's hypothesis that all people are unhappy. Martin calmly defends it again and again. But Candide hopes to disprove it. He wants to find a happy man. Candide's optimism is difficult to destroy. He reads the meeting with Paquette as another omen that he may yet find Cunegonde.

Martin makes two predictions in the chapter. The first is that Cacambo will not return because he has run off with Candide's money. The other is that Candide's money will make Paquette and Brother Giroflee only more unhappy. See what comes of these predictions later. They may help to clarify Voltaire's view of Martin and pessimism.

NOTE: Two recurring messages of Candide are highlighted in the characters of Brother Giroflee and Paquette. Brother Giroflee is yet another corrupted clergyman, but with a slight twist. This "amoral" monk is seen as a victim of the system that forced him into the monastery, not as a "bad" man.

Paquette, too, is seen more as a "victim" than as a "bad" person. Notice the similarities between Paquette's story and the old woman's. Like the old woman, Paquette goes from one man to another. Also like the old woman, she envisions an unhappy end for herself when her beauty fades. Paquette continues Voltaire's portrait of women as objects used and discarded by men.

In Chapter 24, Voltaire is paving the way for the conclusion of Candide. Martin's dialogues with Candide are helping to demolish the last vestiges of optimism. Candide's last illusion and last hope is Cunegonde. What will become of this dream is yet to be seen.

^^^^^^^^^^CANDIDE: CHAPTER 25

Candide and Martin visit Lord Pococurante, a Venetian nobleman, in his beautiful palace. They are served chocolate by two beautiful girls, whom Pococurante finds boring. They discuss art, literature, and music with the Venetian. Pococurante, however, finds little pleasure in any of these subjects: He disparages the great masters and proclaims his own independence of taste. As they leave the nobleman's palace, Candide says to Martin that Pococurante must be happy, because he is above everything he owns. Martin disagrees, pointing out that a man who finds no pleasure in what he has cannot be deemed happy. Weeks pass, with no word from Cunegonde or Cacambo; Candide grows increasingly unhappy.

Chapter 25 is, in a sense, a digression, having little to do, on the surface, with the main body of the story. Here, Voltaire, through his characters' discussion of literature and the arts, allows himself to voice some of his own opinions about literature. Yet, the chapter serves a useful function in the narration--to introduce the character Pococurante, a man of taste and independent judgment. Martin admires his qualities and even agrees with many of his opinions. Candide, on the other hand, unaccustomed to forming his own opinions, is shocked by Pococurante's independence. Up until this point, he himself has always had a teacher and a guide in forming his opinions. Keep this in mind when you read Chapter 30.

But even Martin, admiring as he is of Pococurante, does not fail to see the negative aspect of the nobleman. Pococurante has everything, but his life is empty. He enjoys nothing; he is bored. His name sums up all that is wrong with him--Pococurante, caring little. Martin, cynic and pessimist that he is, sees that Pococurante's lack of involvement in life is no answer to the misery of life.

NOTE: ARTISTIC AND LITERARY REFERENCES. To help you understand some of the references to the great masters mentioned in this chapter, here is a list and brief description:

LODOVICO ARIOSTO (1471-1533), Italian Renaissance poet, author of the comic epic Orlando Furioso.