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Once again, Voltaire gives me the impression that he is not attracted to the novel or the story, which he contemptuously calls " trifles ".
" How can you prefer stories that have no meaning and mean nothing ? That's why we like it ".
He has the prejudice of the noble gender. The tragedy, the verse discourse, the philosophical pamphlet, visibly preoccupies him.
The story is divided into two moments, with the Eldorado episode in the center - the image of an inaccessible ideal. The evolution of the protagonist makes " Candide" a novel of éducation and apprenticeship : only after he has removed the solutions proposed by the optimistic philosopher Pangloss, and the pessimistic philosopher Martin - can Candid answer the questions that have haunted him, throughout his journey.
Adventures shape his personality, experiences make him think. Dreams help him to clarify his beliefs.
" Candid" - can be considered the parodic epic of decay and misery, but also of gallant aristocratic fairy tales and novels.
Voltaire also includes a lot of biographical substance, in this story. The Enlightenment, with its double aspect - negative and constructive - is also present. This perhaps explains the anecdote in which Lord Chesterfield would have answered his son, in this way, who asked him if he should buy the Diderot's Encyclopedia - the famous account of XVlll- century thought :
" - You'II buy it, my son, and sit on it, to read " Candide ". "
" How can you prefer stories that have no meaning and mean nothing ? That's why we like it ".
He has the prejudice of the noble gender. The tragedy, the verse discourse, the philosophical pamphlet, visibly preoccupies him.
The story is divided into two moments, with the Eldorado episode in the center - the image of an inaccessible ideal. The evolution of the protagonist makes " Candide" a novel of éducation and apprenticeship : only after he has removed the solutions proposed by the optimistic philosopher Pangloss, and the pessimistic philosopher Martin - can Candid answer the questions that have haunted him, throughout his journey.
Adventures shape his personality, experiences make him think. Dreams help him to clarify his beliefs.
" Candid" - can be considered the parodic epic of decay and misery, but also of gallant aristocratic fairy tales and novels.
Voltaire also includes a lot of biographical substance, in this story. The Enlightenment, with its double aspect - negative and constructive - is also present. This perhaps explains the anecdote in which Lord Chesterfield would have answered his son, in this way, who asked him if he should buy the Diderot's Encyclopedia - the famous account of XVlll- century thought :
" - You'II buy it, my son, and sit on it, to read " Candide ". "