The Immersion Library

I have wanted to kill myself a hundred time, but somehow I am still in love with life. This ridiculous weakness is perhaps one of our most melancholy propensities; for is there anything more stupid than to be eager to go on carrying a burden which one would gladly throw away, to loathe one’s very being and yet to hold it fast, to fondle the snake that devours us until it has eaten our hearts away?

Remember to laugh. This satirical exaggeration reminds me of comics who incite uproarious applause and laughter with crude sarcasm about the most unnaturally ludicrous behaviors, beliefs and convictions of our normalized society. If one yearns for a clear view of the world, buy a ticket.

And yet, much like the comic, I believe Candide has something to tell us, or an idea for us to consider. His young, naïve Candide, exiled from Paradise for a polite and innocent romantic episode with Cunégonde, embarks on a journey of unbelievable suffering. His world view centers around the current day philosophy of Optimism, taught him by his philosophy master Pangloss, which states that all suffering suits a purpose, and anything with a purpose is not only mandated but the best possible outcome.

As we journey with Candide, we meet other companions with altering views and awful histories to report of their lives. How then, amidst such a storm of repudiation, can he maintain this world view?

The story begins with a Paradise, pivots on a Paradise, and ends in a Paradise. However, each Paradise differs from the others. To describe the first: a luxurious European estate where no one wants for anything. The second: Eldorado, the mythical city of gold nestled in the inaccessible mountain terrain of South America, where men live in a Utopia devoid of money, competition, crime and poverty, where gold, rubies and emeralds hold only as much worth as a ball with which to play sports. Each citizen remains happy in their isolation from capitalism and other societies. However, Eldorado does not have Cunégonde so Candide must leave. The final Paradise: a simple farm estate, where his companions settle and live humbly without riches but above poverty, work the land tirelessly, and take simple pleasures. And Cunégonde lives there.

Voltaire introduces a counterpart to Pangloss, a depraved man named Martin. He holds a pessimistic view of the world; to the point of arguing that God did not create Man as the Devil did. No one escapes suffering.

Between optimism and pessimism, I think Voltaire stands and says, “One suffers both in luxury and riches or pain and poverty if love and compassion are not present. Paradise is not a place but connection.” I think he sees this so clearly, that he can only describe it through a likely infuriation that exhibits itself through wild satire. After all, what is life if we can’t laugh at ourselves?