Candide #4

Phelps, Sydney; Entry #4

My fellow compañera Rachel, We have finished the race and finished the book!
    The first thing that I'd like to address is the fact that Candide once again admits that Martin's pessimistic philosophy was correct. The book says that Candide, "sank into a black melancholy"(94) and that, "Martin was constantly proving to him that there was little virtue or happiness in the world"(94). For awhile, Candide is stuck in this sad pessimistic state but then later on he returns to his optimism. Why do you think Voltaire has Candide so indecisive between pessimism or optimism? I think it may be to show that neither are correct and Candide subconsciously realizes that Pangloss' nor Martin's philosophy correctly define the world. There must be a middle ground.
   I think another theme that Voltaire tries to portray in Candide is that things are not always as they seem on the surface. In this chapter, Candide and Martin make a bet to see if a couple, Paquette and the monk, are happy together or miserable. (Of course Candide thinks they're happy and Martin thinks that they aren't happy.) After Paquette had told Candide her story, he says, "but you looked so gay and happy when I met you! You were singing and caressing your monk with such natural affection!"(97). On the surface, the monk and Paquette seemed like a normal, happy couple. However, Paquette reveals that she was miserable and had been passed man to man as their mistress. Her story reveals more mistreatment of women and that things are not always as good as they seem on the surface-- everyone has a story. Through Paquette's story Voltaire also bashes on monks because they are supposed to be very holy and upright, but the monk had bought Paquette as his mistress! The monk also says that, "the monastery is filled with jealousy, discord, and anger"(98). I find it very ironic that a monastery is filled with such hateful things and Voltaire uses this to condemn yet another religious group.
    The other topic that I'd like to discuss is the character of the senator Pococurante. Pococurante literally means "caring little"(notes 122), which is very ironic because he seems not to care about anything. Candide tells us that, "he's a man who's never known sorrow or trouble"(98) and Candide hopes that Pococurante will prove his optimistic philosophy since he's lived a "perfect" life. However, Voltaire uses this character to further disprove optimism because Pococurante is bored with everything and Candide says that, "nothing can please him"(103). I think Voltaire uses the character of Pococurante to raise the question of what would a perfect world be like? Would it in fact be boring?
   At the very end of the book, Candide, Pangloss and Martin meet an old humble man that owns a small farm and he is very happy with his life. Through this character, Voltaire reveals his philosophy of this earth; that there is good and evil, but in order to have a good life and be satisfied we must work with what we have. The old man does not necessarily have a "good" life because he is rather poor-- and yet he is content. The old man says, "I have only twenty acres of land, which my children and I cultivate. Our work keeps us free of three great evils: boredom, vice, and poverty"(119).
   PS: The part with the all the dethroned kings confused me. I was wondering if you knew the significance of that part?