Ideals Satirized by Voltaire in "Candide" Voltaire'sCandide is a satire of life before and during the enlightenment period, a black comedy, this story often makes light of religious purgings, executions, the church in general, royalty, government, nobility, ideals of love, war and the country of France. About the only things not mocked are the ideals of true happiness and paradise.
The institution of family is mocked when Candide and Cunigonde are caught making-out by her father the king and is banished from his home. Later in the story, Cunigonde's brother fights Candide because he is unworthy to marry his "sister, who has seventy-two quarterlings!" (361). Candide's responce is "she has many obligations to me, she wants to marry me"(361). The reason for the brothers' anger is that Candide can not trace his lineage. For some reason this was important to the nobility of the time so they could in effect "stay in the family" and keep there line pure.
English: Frontispiece and first page of chapter on...
Voltaire's chateau at Ferney-Voltaire, France.
The Auto de fe of Pangloss in Voltaire's Candide, ...Unfortunatly that inbreeding resulted in birth defects and sickness later in life. I guess the moral is not to date your friends sister.
After arriving in Venice, Martin and Candide are eating supper in their hotel with six men who claim to be ex-kings. Each of the kings have been dethroned by war, family or chance, and some have been in prison. Its ironic that all these men are sitting, having dinner together, it shows that even the kings of the world are human and can be hit by hard times. Theodore of Corsica mentions, "I used to coin currency, and now i dont have a cent"(393). Voltaire pokes fun at the royals here while most writers would have shown various kings in a flatoring way.
In chapters 2 and 3, the wars of the time are...