Voltaire's Candide: An Analysis

The great German physicist, Albert Einstein, once said, “The only source of knowledge is experience.” In essence, the only way to learn is by opening our minds to new experiences. In Voltaire’s Candide, he writes, “We must cultivate our garden,” (3). This line has long been open to interpretation, but evidence in the book directs our focus to the idea that the “garden” represents us. Therefore, if the “garden” represents us, then what we can do is shape ourselves by the experiences we have and what we learn from them, for that is how we will be able to grow.

When Candide, the protagonist, leaves the only home he has ever known, he encounters people who change his perspective. Candide falls deeply in love with Cunégonde, the daughter of the …show more content…
For one, Cunégonde had a positive outlook on life because she had found Candide, the love of her life (13). However, after Candide was banished from the castle, everything went downhill for Cunégonde, as the Old Woman recounts. “‘You have been ravished by two Bulgarians, had received two deep wounds in your body, had seen two of your own castles demolished, had lost two fathers and two mothers, and seen both of them barbarously murdered…and…had two lovers whipped at an auto-da-fé,’” (40). Because of these lamentable mishaps, Cunégonde begins to lose her zeal for life and claims to have an atrocious life that no one could possibly relate to (40). Evidently, Cunégonde’s once happy-go-lucky perspective of the world quickly changes as she goes through things she never had before, leading her to reject Pangloss’ teachings of Philosophical Optimism (40). This is significant because it validates the idea that perspectives change as a result of what is learned by experiences. Moreover, the Old Woman goes through a series of incidents that shape her perspective of the world. Before becoming Cunégonde’s faithful wench, the Old Woman saw her mother get killed, was sold into slavery several times, was diseased with plague, had a buttock cut off, and was abused (44, 47, 49). Despite the tragic side to these tales, the Old Woman remains positive of life

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