Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Candide, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Optimism and Disillusion
The Enlightenment and Social Criticism
Religion and Philosophy vs. The World
Love and Women
Wealth
Summary
Analysis
An old woman comes across Candide and convinces him to come home with her. She takes care of him, but does not reveal why she is doing so. After several days, she leads him to a house in the country, and then brings a veiled woman to him from the upstairs room. When Candide removes the veil, he finds Cunégonde is under it: the two faint with joy and surprise. Cunégonde explains that she survived the attack, and asks to hear what has happened to Candide in the time since their fateful kiss.
For the second time, a character thought to be dead returns in disguise. These surprise returns are part of the novel's back-and-forth between disillusionment and optimism. The synchronized fainting satirizes the gestures and conventions of traditional romance.
Themes
