A question for fans of Voltaire

[Curtis13]

Greetings fellows,

I just wanted to ask those who are more intimate with Voltaire's work than I, what the significance was at the end of Candide, when Mistress Cunégonde turns very ugly, yet he marries her anyway. Till that point I had laughed and nodded at the scathing satire, but I'm not sure I quite understood this part. Was there anything to it at all, or was it just a grimacing point of irony after all he had been through?

Cheers.

[Curtis13]

Philistines!

[Frédéric Chopin]

It's been a long time since I read Candide, but I seem to remember that Candide had no desire to marry Cunégonde but did so simply out of spite for the baron. This seems to emphasize Candide's inability to form his own opinions. Like his philosophy of optimism, which he simply takes from Pangloss, his desire to marry Cunégonde stresses this weakness as it comes from his petty feelings about the baron.

[Curtis13]

I see! Very interesting. So it's more Candide's response to her transformation rather than the transformation itself.

Thanks very much.