Joseph Salazar English 232 Literary Essay 12 October 2015 Analysis of Voltaire’s Candide In his suggestive satirical masterpiece, Candide, Voltaire makes a mockery of those who believe what they are told without questioning it, or in other words, follow Leibnitzian optimism. Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz was a seventeenth century German polymath and philosopher who’s doctrine of optimism holds that our world is the best of all those possible. Candide, the protagonist after whom the work is titled
Voltaire employs his great wit and satire throughout Candide to highlight numerous shortcomings of society. The slave trade, ignorance, aristocracy, war, religion, and government all are highlighted and quickly besmirched with typical aphorism. The idea of gender inequality and a pervading patriarchy appears in the work, but never becomes directly addressed. The women of Candide all are subject to rape, abuse, and other injustices, yet rarely do they complain or receive reasonable justification for
policy. Obviously, Napoleon modified the Voltairean political theory of enlightened absolutism in the way that Voltaire could not have approved. Thus, Napoleon introduced something similar to a democratic element by making his military despotism plebiscitary. On the other hand, Napoleon re-established the Catholic Church and made his military adventures, which contradicted the ideas of Voltaire. Undoubtedly, Napoleon's conquests seemed to significantly diminish rather than increase his personal attachment