In the Name of Love?

Oh the senseless actions that man takes in the name of love! In Candide by Voltaire, Candide claims to be in love with Cunégonde; similar to the way Romeo claims to be in love with Juliet, in Romeo and Juliet. In both cases, the men are confusing their so-called love with infatuation and lust. Although they seem willing to take tragic measures to demonstrate their love, neither actually feels it. In Romeo and Juliet, he hears news of Juliet’s supposed death and seeks a poison to kill himself, because for him life without Juliet is no life at all. "Come, cordial and not poison, go with me to Juliet's grave; for there must I use thee."(Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare Act V, Scene I) At the beginning of the play Shakespeare implies that Romeo falls in love quite easily, since before meeting Juliet, Romeo loved another girl named Rosaline.  However, he still feels he is courageously committing suicide in the name of true love when he drinks the poison.

Similarly, Candide feels he is being heroic when he kills Don Issachar and the Grand Inquisitor. Cunégonde asks Candide if he has lost his mind and why he has done such a thing. Candide replies, “Dearest lady…a jealous man in love doesn’t know what he is doing.”(p.45-46) Although, he tries to pass off his actions as passionate and loving, before he kills the Grand Inquisitor, he decides to commit the crime for a very different reason. “His reasoning was as follows: ’If this holy man calls for help, he will assuredly have me burnt, and Cunégonde, too, in all probability. I have been mercilessly whipped at his orders; besides, he's my rival.”(p.45) Candide was actually looking out for himself, he killed the Grand Inquisitor out of fear and revenge, not love.

Romeo and Candide both believe that they are brave fighters, who took extreme action to preserve love. However, they are neither in love nor right by justifying their deeds as being in the name of love.