Browse Comments by Reader


Matt C

Matt C on Chapter 11:
March 14, 2010 at 7:01 pm

Voltaire makes a clear statement about the illusion of riches and beauty. The old woman starts out saying, “I had not always bleared eyes and red eyelids; neither did my nose always touch my chin; nor was I always a servant,” then continues on to reveal her prestigious past shows how riches and beauty are not permanently attached to a single person or household, but are always drifting from one to the other. Along with a lack of permanence, these objects of human desire do not represent the people themselves for neither Candide nor Cunegonde could have guessed that the old woman was either beautiful at one point or very wealthy. Through this Voltaire is trying to show that in the end, riches and beauty have much less importance than what people make them out to be.

Go to thread
Matt C on Chapter 12:
March 14, 2010 at 4:30 pm

It isn’t exactly fate that the old woman speaks of. The old woman is talking more about human nature than anything. She speaks of man’s ability to cling to life no matter what crime or treacherous occurrence befalls them, possibly in hope of a better future.

The statement, “to caress the serpent which devours us” is the most direct allusion to the story of Adam and Eve from the Book of Genesis. The first burden man had received was a result of the serpent’s trickery, “The woman answered, ‘The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it.’” Adam and Eve’s fall may have been the worst mishap to occur in all of mankind. Yet even Adam and Eve forged on like all the people the old woman spoke of. And they, “cultivated their own garden.”

Go to thread
  1. Ade1a (2)
  2. Alice Boone, Curator, Candide at 250: Scandal and Success (40)
  3. Amarish Mena (1)
  4. Amy Ward (4)
  5. Anonymous (1)
  6. Arjun Bassin (1)
  7. Armen Hakobyan (1)
  8. Bradley Anderson (1)
  9. Bree Vore (1)
  10. Brette McSweeney (1)
  11. Chris Bruce (1)
  12. Chris Morrow (6)
  13. Christopher Cleveland (2)
  14. Connor Beeks (2)
  15. Connor Hillmann (1)
  16. Corri Schembri (4)
  17. Diana Encalada (2)
  18. Eric Palmer (1)
  19. Eric Palmer, Allegheny College, editor of the Broadview Editions 'Candide' (3)
  20. Erik Örjan Emilsson (6)
  21. Grace Kim (2)
  22. Iris Ramollari (5)
  23. Jack E. Chandler, MSE (1)
  24. Jacqueline Bennifield (4)
  25. Jacqueline Bueno (2)
  26. Jahneen B (1)
  27. James Basker, Richard Gilder Professor of Literary History, Barnard College (5)
  28. James Morrow, author The Last Witchfinder, The Philosopher's Apprentice (23)
  29. Jim Boone (2)
  30. Joe Haldeman (1)
  31. Jose Castro (2)
  32. Jose Lopez (2)
  33. Joseph Galluzzo (10)
  34. Justine Brown, author of Hollywood Utopia and All Possible Worlds (11)
  35. Kate (1)
  36. Kelle Dhein, PhD (1)
  37. Ken Houghton (1)
  38. lah (1)
  39. Leanna Caminero (1)
  40. Lucy Hunter (1)
  41. M. Beasley (1)
  42. Maikel Dominguez (1)
  43. Maria Teresa Ritta (2)
  44. mary mcelroy (1)
  45. Matt C (2)
  46. Matt Pharris (2)
  47. Mgarcia2784 (1)
  48. Monika Mlynarska (3)
  49. Navrose Gill (2)
  50. Nicholas Cronk, Voltaire Foundation, Oxford (4)
  51. Nicholas Petrovich (1)
  52. Nicole Horejsi, Assistant Professor of English and Comparative Literature, Columbia University (11)
  53. Nile Southern (1)
  54. Raj Shah (2)
  55. Rinku Skaria (2)
  56. S McGhee (1)
  57. Samantha Morse (3)
  58. Samantha White, 12th Grade IB Student (2)
  59. Sean Murray, Intrigued Student (1)
  60. Shelley (1)
  61. Stanton Wood, playwright, Candide Americana (13)
  62. Tom Gilbert (5)
  63. Travis Lo (1)
  64. Trisha Amin (1)
  65. Victor Uszerowicz (1)
  66. Wataru Hoeltermann, Student at MDC (1)
  67. William Rodriguez (1)
  68. Zoraida Pastor (1)

This page contains a running transcript of all conversations taking place in Candide organized by reader. Click through the menu on the left to view individual readers’ comments. Click “Go to thread” to see the comment in context. You can also browse comments by chapter. Learn more about our featured commenters.

Total comments in book: 226