Candide - Couverture souple

Voltaire; Ballard Classics

Couverture souple

ISBN 13 : 9798372627567

Editeur : Independently published, 2023

Synopsis

“In every province, the chief occupations, in order of importance, are lovemaking, malicious gossip, and talking nonsense.”

“You're a bitter man," said Candide.
That's because I've lived," said Martin.”

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Candide; or the Optimist is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, first published in 1759. It begins with a young man, Candide, who is living a sheltered life in an Edenic paradise and being indoctrinated with Leibnizian optimism by his mentor, Professor Pangloss. The work describes the abrupt cessation of this lifestyle, followed by Candide's slow and painful disillusionment as he witnesses and experiences great hardships in the world. Voltaire concludes Candide with, if not rejecting Leibnizian optimism outright, advocating a deeply practical precept, "we must cultivate our garden", in lieu of the Leibnizian mantra of Pangloss, "all is for the best" in the "best of all possible worlds".

Candide is characterized by its tone as well as by its erratic, fantastical, and fast-moving plot. A picaresque novel with a story similar to that of a more serious coming-of-age narrative (Bildungsroman), it parodies many adventure and romance clichés, the struggles of which are caricatured in a tone that is bitter and matter-of-fact. Still, the events discussed are often based on historical happenings, such as the Seven Years' War and the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. As philosophers of Voltaire's day contended with the problem of evil, so does Candide in this short theological novel, albeit more directly and humorously. Voltaire ridicules religion, theologians, governments, armies, philosophies, and philosophers. Through Candide, he assaults Leibniz and his optimism.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Independently published
• Date d'édition: 2023
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 13: 9798372627567
• Reliure: Paperback
• Nombre de pages: 121
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible