Lady Cunégonde wanted to learn “a lesson in experimental physics” (pg.20) with the very noble and extremely willing Candide when the Baron just happened to walk by the expensive tapestry that hid them, and by pure coincidence noticed the lesson taking place, which caused him to drive Candide away from the mansion with “…powerful kicks on the backside.” (pg. 21)
“Thus consternation reigned in the most beautiful and delightful of all possible mansions.” (pg.21)
The first chapters of Candide pretty much drip with irony. Not only are many of the situations absurd, but the voice used to write the book is so bitterly sarcastic that it makes the normal situations sound insane, even if they are entirely plausible.
The first chapter illustrates what everyone would imagine to be a perfect house with perfect people, but one slowly begins to notice that this mansion is anything but perfect. In fact, it is probably one of the worst places I’ve ever heard of.
At first, the amount of irony used to describe this house makes it seem, as I said before, a bit insane, and even though it is targeting a society that is long gone, I found that it can be applied to our very lives. People today have come to accept as an absolute reality that money is the path to happiness. This thought is a form of epistemological violence: it has been guaranteed by the media so long, that it is no longer seen as the lie it is. However, as shown in Candide, the people with the most money are not always the happiest or the most fortunate, as a matter of fact, they normally aren’t the best of people either.
Money has come to rule our society, and that, is exactly what Voltaire protests in the first chapter of his book.
Money doesn’t imply education or morals. Money doesn’t mean knowledge. Above all, money doesn’t give you happily ever after.
You are right Ana Maria. Many people have come to believe that money brings happiness and perfection, but this is definitely not true. You can be a millionaire and also be a miserable person. It all depends on you. The mansion was "the most beautiful of all mansions" but the people in it were certainly not.
ResponderEliminarI completely agree with you Ana Maria. Our modern day society believes that without money, you will not achieve happiness but that is not true. Ones life can be miserable, no matter if you are rich or not. To be truly happy you need much more than money, since it will only buy you material things, a shallow sense of joy. Being rich most certainly does not mean you are either happy or a good person, perfectly reflected in Candide.
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