“All I know,” said Candide, “is that we must
cultivate our garden.” – “You are right,” said Pangloss, “for when man was
placed in the Garden of Eden, he was put there ut operaretur eum, so that he
might work: which proves that man was not born for rest.” – “Let us set to work
and stop proving things,” said Martin, “for that is the only way to make life
bearable” (93). This quote comes at the very end of Candide’s tale. What I would
argue is that Candide was not looking for the Garden of Eden he was looking for
a Garden of Eden after Eve and Adam had already eaten the fruit. On a blog site
that I had found a blogger made a very good point. He had said that in the
beginning of the novel Candide was in an Eden like garden and he left. Candide
searched the world trying to find some type of utopia that would make him
happy; put him at peace. If Candide would have been happy in the Garden of Eden
he would have never left. The fact is that Candide, much like Adam and Eve
wanted more than just the “restful life,” he wanted knowledge. After receiving
the knowledge of the world he was able to settle down in a garden. It was a
garden where he could work. In the Garden of Eden Adam and Eve were offered a
simpler life of rest where everything was taken care of for them. Candide
wanted/strived for a place in which he, himself could cultivate and work the
land. Candide did not want the perfect garden. He wanted one that was filled of
knowledge and hard work.
The blog that I read was really interesting it takes
the characters of Candide and compares them to the characters (people) in the
Bible. If you want to check it out here in the link… http://writinghood.com/online-writing/symbolism-of-the-garden-of-eden-in-candide/
The parallel that you and the other blogger made here is interesting and quite true. I think that Voltaire based the beginning and end of the novel on the famous story of Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden. When I read your blog post, I immediately began to think of the relation between Candide being cast out of Westphalia by the king- similar to Adam and Eve who were cast out of the Garden. I also think it's interesting that by the end of the novel Candide reverted back to having a garden of his own that unlike the Garden of Eden which is perfect, Candide's garden represents simplicity and having the bare necessities.
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