The Shining Splendor of Immoral Men

The immorality of men is plentiful and true with men of all origins, religions, and social standings. When a Bulgar soldier attacks Cunégonde’s family he sees her faint and takes advantage of this to rape her. Then, a Bulgar captain walks in and since the soldier doesn’t salute him, he kills him and proceeds to capture Cunégonde for his own benefit. “A Bulgar captain came in. He noticed that I [Cunégonde] was bleeding and that the soldier made no attempt to move. This lack of respect for an officer so enraged the captain that he slew the brute across my body.”(p.41) In this situation, the Bulgar soldier shouldn’t have been assaulting Cunégonde or her family and the Bulgar captain should have stopped the atrocious sight not because he was offended by the soldier’s lack of respect, but instead out of compassion. Later, this same captain sold her as if she was a simple piece of property for his own gain and a willing man bought her as if the first act was just. “At the end of three months…he sold me to Don Issachar, a Jew with business connections in Holland and Portugal.”(p. 41)

Afterward, another man, the Grand Inquisitor, also developed a liking for Cunégonde and forced Don Issachar to share her with him by threatening him with an auto-da-fé. Here the Grand Inquisitor wrongly uses his power to achieve his goals and scare others into doing as he wishes.

Candide ends up murdering both the Grand Inquisitor and Don Issachar, and as a result Candid, Cunégonde, and the old woman who was with them, must flee and set sail for the New World. During their trip someone steals their money and diamonds, leaving them with no means to continue their journey. The old woman says, “I strongly suspect that reverend friar who slept at the same inn with us yesterday at Badajoz…I remember that he entered our room twice and left the inn long before we did.”(p.47) This robbery is twice as immoral, because not only did he take their riches, but he was also a friar, meaning that he was supposed to abstain from material possessions and have no desire for such. This also sheds light on the corruption found within religion. This same kind of corruption is exhibited when the old woman tells the story of her misfortunes. She says, “I am the daughter of Pope Urban X and the Princess of Palestrina.”(p.49) Popes are supposed to be celibate, and therefore shouldn’t be conceiving illegitimate children. This shows that this certain Pope went against his vows and was corrupt in his form of conduct.

The many men who show immoral actions throughout this story are important because they all have different backgrounds, beliefs, and social statuses. It effectively proves that mankind, as a whole, can and will act in immoral ways under various circumstances.