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

Candide is a more independent man at the end of the story than he is at the beginning. In the early chapters, he relies completely on Pangloss for his ideas about the world. He sees Westphalia and the castle of the Baron Thunder-ten-tronckh as the center of the world. In the final chapter, he is able to disagree with his master and to decide for himself what direction his life will take.

Not everything about Candide changes. Despite his excessive optimism as the story opens, he is portrayed as also having positive characteristics: "an honest mind and great simplicity of heart." He is loyal to his friends and to Cunegonde. He remains a kind man, generous, and honest in his dealings with others. Some of his negative characteristics do not leave him completely, either. Although he is less naive as he settles in Constantinople, he is still gullible enough to be swindled out of the last of his money in the final chapter.

You may well ask yourself, in fact, how much Candide has changed. Is it his character that changes or merely his view of the world? Try to trace which aspects of Candide remain the same and which change.

Certain aspects may seem contradictory. He is said to be gentle, and yet he kills two men and thinks he has killed another. He appears completely naive, and yet he has the good sense, as early as Chapter 3, to hide during a battle and to leave the war zone as quickly as possible. Is Voltaire saying that nothing and no one are quite what they seem? Or is he saying that circumstances force us to do things that might otherwise be against our nature? Look for other instances in the story of seemingly contradictory behavior and see whether you can discover why Voltaire has chosen to portray Candide in that way.

Candide's actions and observations, as those of all the other characters, are closely tied to his function in the story. Voltaire, wishing to destroy the theory of philosophical optimism, which he finds impossible to support in the face of reality, causes Candide to suffer a multiplicity of evil and tragic experiences. He does not want to leave any room in the reader's mind for doubt--philosophical optimism is an impossible, even evil, belief. Therefore, every conceivable evil must be either experienced or observed by Candide. Although he is the most developed character in the story, Candide is always subordinate to the ideas of Voltaire's philosophical tale. Keep this in mind as inconsistencies show in Candide's character and behavior when his miseries pile up to an incredible level. Always ask yourself what Voltaire wants to say to you. What does he want you to see?

^^^^^^^^^^CANDIDE: PANGLOSS

While Candide is the most developed character in the story and the one that changes the most, Pangloss is the character that changes the least. He is the optimist philosopher who remains the optimist philosopher, even after he is hanged, sent to the galley as a prisoner, and caused to lose an eye and an ear. He is a foil for Candide, as Candide first trusts and believes in him, then begins to doubt him and finally to disagree with him. Although Pangloss is physically absent for much of the story, he is always present in spirit. "What would Pangloss think? What would Pangloss say?" are constant concerns for Candide as he travels about the world.

Readers have seen the origins of Pangloss in various historical figures, either in the optimist philosopher Leibniz or in his disciple, Christian Wolff (1679-1754). Pangloss may also stand for more than just philosophical optimism--he may stand for philosophy itself, for any attempt to reduce the world to a single system of belief. (Support for this theory can be found in Chapter 30.) But, true to his name which in Greek means "all tongue," Pangloss's main role is to state and restate his belief in optimism, despite all the evidence to the contrary.

Pangloss is a deliberately ludicrous figure, since Voltaire is trying to expose the absurdity of the beliefs he stands for. Only once does this mask slip. In Chapter 30, Voltaire gives us a brief indication that perhaps even Pangloss has changed: "Pangloss asserted that he had always suffered horribly; but having once declared that everything was marvelously well, he continued to repeat the opinion and didn't believe a word of it."

^^^^^^^^^^CANDIDE: CUNEGONDE

Like Pangloss, Cunegonde is often physically absent in Candide. She is introduced in Chapter 1 and then disappears until Chapter 7. At that point she makes her longest appearance, staying with Candide until Chapter 14, when they again part, in Buenos Aires. She does not reappear until the final two chapters, when she and Candide are reunited in Turkey.

Also like Pangloss, Cunegonde is nearly always present in spirit. Candide is not only an adventure story and the story of a young man's education, but also a romance. Candide's journey, especially after Eldorado, is a journey to find Cunegonde and make her his bride. She is the beloved, the lovely Cunegonde whom he struggles so long to find. As Candide's optimist philosophy crashes about him, Cunegonde is his ray of hope. When all else fails, he believes that if he can find her he will be happy (see Chapters 25-27). The final irony for Candide is that when he does find Cunegonde she is no longer the lovely young girl he remembered. She has grown ugly, and, after their marriage, she turns into a shrew.

Until Chapter 8, you know very little about Cunegonde. In Chapter 1, you read that she is pretty and desirable. She is said to be interested in science, but the "science" she observes and hopes to practice is lovemaking. She gets many chances to fulfill her hopes as Candide proceeds.

By the time Cunegonde reappears in Chapter 8 she is a practical, adaptable woman who manages to make her way in many difficult situations. Although she is a sensualist who takes what pleasure she can find whether it's good food or love, she is much more of a realist than Candide. She expresses her disillusionment with the easy optimism of Pangloss, but without the despair that Candide seems to feel at the loss of his illusions. Her lack of devotion to ideas or ideals allows her to enjoy life despite its disasters. It also allows her to love Candide but at the same time make do with others like the governor of Buenos Aires, the Grand Inquisitor, and Don Issachar.

The portrayal of Cunegonde, like the other female characters in Candide, is ambiguous. She (as well as the old woman and Paquette) is shown in a positive way to be a strong, practical individual who copes well in terrible situations.

Yet, in the portraits of Cunegonde and the others, you may see pitiful women at the mercy of men, passed from hand to hand until their beauty fades and they become washerwomen. On the one hand, Cunegonde seems a natural survivor; on the other, she is merely a victim. As you read along, see if you can determine whether Voltaire's female characters deserve more pity than admiration.

^^^^^^^^^^CANDIDE: OLD WOMAN

The second major female character is the old woman. As with other major characters in the story, the old woman is present for only part of the tale. You meet her at the end of Chapter 6, when she approaches Candide after he is beaten by the Inquisition. From Chapter 7 on, the old woman appears only when Cunegonde is present, since the two women travel together for the rest of the story.

The old woman serves as both a servant and an adviser to Cunegonde. Not only does she reunite Cunegonde with Candide, she also advises Cunegonde on her conduct. It is the old woman who urges Cunegonde to stay in Buenos Aires when Candide is again forced to run for his life.

The old woman also acts as a counselor to Candide, above all in practical matters. She arranges his escape from Lisbon, and Candide consults her about the purchase of the farm in Turkey and what to do about the young baron.

What kind of counselor is she? She has good common sense. She is worldly-wise, and her advice is sound in helping both Cunegonde and Candide out of some sticky situations. Like Cunegonde, she has a great love for life and is able to land on her feet.

The old woman can be seen as a representation of common sense and practicality. She can also be regarded as a cynical voice, worldly-wise in a more negative sense.

The old woman tells her own story in one of the longest sections of Candide, Chapters 11 and 12. Notice how her tale parallels Cunegonde's and how the old woman's destiny foreshadows the younger woman's. Why do you think Voltaire gives this particular character so great an opportunity to tell her story? Can you decide whether she is portrayed negatively as a worldly-wise cynic or positively as a voice of common sense and practicality?

^^^^^^^^^^CANDIDE: CACAMBO

Another major character, whose function seems to overlap that of the old woman and Martin, is the "faithful" Cacambo, Candide's servant, who enters the story in Buenos Aires. Cacambo joins Candide in all his South American adventures and finally leads him from Venice to Cunegonde in Turkey.