Voltaire's 'Candide': The old woman, and the value of action

One of the best, and most interesting characters, in my opinion, in Candide is that of the old woman. A secondary character that, at first, doesn't really seem to matter that much for the concerns of the plot. However, it seems to me that this woman is the personification of how the philosophy of Optimism (see my previous blog post here) can sometimes be beneficial. As I have said before, there is no harm in being optimistic. And this old woman, rather than try to explain away the horrors of the world, rather than, like Pangloss, suggesting that "tout est au mieux", she accepts the world for what it is. She accepts that it is full of evil and terror, but it does not stop her living. Despite the fact that she has lived a truly horrific (and, indeed, unbelievable) life, she continues to help people, and portray a worldy-wise view that is both optimistic and realistic. After recounting her tale of woe to Candide and Cunégonde, she says that

"je voulus cent fois me tuer, mais j'aimais encore la vie. Cette faiblesse ridicule est peut-être un de nos penchants les plus funestes; car y a t-il rien de plus sot que de vouloir porter continuellement un fardeau qu'on peut toujours jeter par terre?"

This is, without a doubt, contrary to Pangloss's view. The old woman acknowledges that the world is, at times, a horrific place. However, she also acknowledges that despite all of the hardships life has placed upon her, she still wants to live, and questions why it is that the human race continues to allow themselves to live when the very act of living causes so much pain. Now, the old woman calls this a weakness, but I see it as the innate strength of the human race. To continue living, even at the worst of times, takes more strength than to let life slip away. The old woman's realistic philosophy (although she is never called a philosopher) is further shown when she challenges Cunégonde to find one man on their ship who has not, at some point or another, cursed his own existence. Of course, had Pangloss been with them, he would have been that one man, further satirising his level of optimism.

The old woman is also the character in the book to first raise the question of action vs. abstract reflection in the novel. In the last chapter of the story, she asks the following:

'Je voudrais savoir lequel est le pire, ou d'être violée cent fois par des pirates nègres, d'avoir une fesse coupée, de passer par les baguettes chez les Bulgares, d'être fouetté et pendu dans un auto-da-fé, d'être disséqué, de ramer en galère, déprouver enfin toutes les misères par lesquelles nous avons tous passé, ou bien de rester ici à ne rien faire?'

Candide's response, "c'est une grande question", is correct. It is indeed a good question. What is better, to have a life full of action and excitement, regardless of how horrific, or to simply sit back and do nothing? The characters remaining at the end of the novella go to find out the answer to this question, first visiting a derviche, who shuts the door in their faces when questioned about the meaning of life, and then visiting a Turk, who informs them that "je n'ai que vingt arpents [...] je les cultive avec mes enfants; le travail éloigne de nous trois grands maux: l'ennui, le vice, et le besoin". After contemplating these words, Candide, Pangloss, and the other characters begin to agree, Pangloss declaring that "quand l'homme fut mis dans le jardin d'Eden, il y fut mis ut operaretur eum, pou qu'il travaillât, ce qui prouve que l'homme n'est pas né pour le repos".

In this short chapter, Voltaire suggests that abstract reflection can only achieve so much in life: it is far better to have action than passivity. Honest work keeps us away from "three great evils", namely vice, or moral weakness, a trait which is clearly apparent throughout the plot in the evils that happen; want, or greed, again portrayed in numerous examples throughout; and idleness, which can lead to the two former ills. As Pangloss says, man was not born to be idle, and so therefore work is required in order to live a fulfilling life.

Voltaire's argument against abstract reflection and passivity culminates in the very last (and very famous) line of the novella. After Pangloss's lengthy monologue reflecting on all of the past events and how they support his philosophy, Candide simply turns to him and says "Cela est bien dit [...] mais il faut cultiver notre jardin", finally rejecting Pangloss and his thinking, and turning instead to a practical, and, some would say, more fulfilling, life.