Voltaire: Candide oder der Optimismus

In the organizer's words:

In our "Unread Masterpieces of World Literature" series at the TREFFBAR, we are going back to the 18th century in the 2024/25 season. Stephan Ullrich reads Voltaire's famous satirical novel "Candide or Optimism".

In this classic of the Enlightenment, Voltaire (actually François-Marie Arouet) sends his hero Candide on an odyssey across the globe, creating a kind of world cinema. Candide, "the pure one" or "the faithful one", a true fool, is born in an idyllic castle in Westphalia and brought up by his teacher Pangloss in the belief that the world is basically good. Because he is caught in an awkward situation with the daughter of the house, he has to leave this "earthly paradise". Candide goes to war, is shipwrecked, witnesses the Lisbon earthquake and sets sail for the New World. He sees the legendary Eldorado, and via Paris and Venice he finally ends up in Constantinople. On his travels, he experiences the harshness of the world, cruelty, greed for power and cowardice. His belief in progress and his optimism are put to the test, which Voltaire recounts with a twinkle in his eye.

First published anonymously in 1759 and banned in half of Europe, even publicly burned in Geneva, Voltaire's philosophical satire was nevertheless a great success. It combines adventure novel and philosophical criticism, fantastic narrative and lush exaggeration. By 1789, 48 editions had already been published. Incidentally, the text was not banned in Prussia. Voltaire's novel is supplemented by his correspondence with Frederick the Great, who wrote to him: "I consider you the greatest genius the world has produced!"

Once a month from October 2024 (subject to change).

You can join the reading series at any time.

The excerpts from the correspondence between Voltaire and Frederick the Great are based on the following edition: Voltaire - Frederick the Great. Briefwechsel, edited and translated by Hans Pleschinski © 2004 Carl Hanser Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, Munich