Candide’s Revolutionary Impact
The thinkers of the Enlightenment questioned traditional authority and embraced the idea that society could be improved through rational thought and actions. The Enlightenment occurred during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and it included philosophy, science, and other fields. Social reform was a political ideology that Enlightenment philosophers fought for through rebellions against fear, prejudice and superstition, by attacking the aristocracy and church. Candide is one of Voltaire’s greatest works, published in 1759, and though it was written during a time of Enlightenment, Voltaire openly mocks the era’s philosophies and shows the cracks in the movement. He criticizes the time’s nobility, philosophy, …show more content…
A good example of this would be the inhumanity of the abuse of power within the clergy, most notably the Inquisitor, when hanging and executing his fellow citizens over their philosophical differences. Even more so, the Inquisitor orders the flogging of Candide for merely, “listening with an air of approval” further proving the abuse of power. The Church officials in Candide are portrayed as being some of the most sinful of all citizens - having mistresses, engaging in homosexual affairs, and operating as jewel thieves. The most notorious example of hypocrisy in the Church hierarchy is the Pope, who despite his vows of celibacy, has a daughter. Candide exemplifies the religious persecution through the Grand Inquisitor who orders an auto-da-fé (burning of a heretic by Spanish Inquisition) in order to ward off earthquakes, among other …show more content…
It is also interesting to see how the cultural norms of before the Enlightenment are hinted at but not explicitly written by Voltaire. A prime example of this is the treatment of women in Candide. If he truly held such views, why then were all the women in Candide shown with such weak and defenseless character traits? While there were many views supported during the period of the French Revolution about the rights of people, it can be seen that even a progressive thinker such as Voltaire did not always believe in the same ideals such as equality among genders, especially towards
The thinkers of the Enlightenment questioned traditional authority and embraced the idea that society could be improved through rational thought and actions. The Enlightenment occurred during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and it included philosophy, science, and other fields. Social reform was a political ideology that Enlightenment philosophers fought for through rebellions against fear, prejudice and superstition, by attacking the aristocracy and church. Candide is one of Voltaire’s greatest works, published in 1759, and though it was written during a time of Enlightenment, Voltaire openly mocks the era’s philosophies and shows the cracks in the movement. He criticizes the time’s nobility, philosophy, …show more content…
A good example of this would be the inhumanity of the abuse of power within the clergy, most notably the Inquisitor, when hanging and executing his fellow citizens over their philosophical differences. Even more so, the Inquisitor orders the flogging of Candide for merely, “listening with an air of approval” further proving the abuse of power. The Church officials in Candide are portrayed as being some of the most sinful of all citizens - having mistresses, engaging in homosexual affairs, and operating as jewel thieves. The most notorious example of hypocrisy in the Church hierarchy is the Pope, who despite his vows of celibacy, has a daughter. Candide exemplifies the religious persecution through the Grand Inquisitor who orders an auto-da-fé (burning of a heretic by Spanish Inquisition) in order to ward off earthquakes, among other …show more content…
It is also interesting to see how the cultural norms of before the Enlightenment are hinted at but not explicitly written by Voltaire. A prime example of this is the treatment of women in Candide. If he truly held such views, why then were all the women in Candide shown with such weak and defenseless character traits? While there were many views supported during the period of the French Revolution about the rights of people, it can be seen that even a progressive thinker such as Voltaire did not always believe in the same ideals such as equality among genders, especially towards