Candide

Candide is punctuated by the returning motif of the travel companion, who is at times lost and then found again. These travel companions are often foils to Candide’s optimism, allowing Voltaire to satirize the protagonists’ guiding philosophy. On one hand, their personal stories challenge Candide’s worldview that all is for the best, as the reader watches how Candide reacts when confronted with information that contradicts his point of view. At the same time, these companions allow Candide to debate these truths and experience various realities as cultural translators, guiding him through new cities and continents. Like a parody of the Platonic dialogues or the philosophical discussions often employed by 18th-century philosophers, such as George Berkeley, Voltaire allows Candide to come to his “truths” through constant discourse with his travel companions.

The recurring motif of the companion, lost and found, also allows Voltaire to show whether Candide’s views have evolved. How does he confront the fact that Brother Girofleo and Paquette are in fact more miserable since his first encounter with them in Venice? How will Candide handle the aging of Cunégonde after idealizing her beauty for months? With each supposed “death” of the companion (Pangloss, Cunégonde, the Baron, Paquette, etc.