Candide | Study Guide

Voltaire

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Characters

Course Hero Literature Instructor Russell Jaffe explains the main characters in Voltaire's novella Candide.

Candide | Characters

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Character Description
Candide Candide is a young philosopher who travels the world in search of happiness and the woman he loves. Read More
Pangloss Pangloss is the philosopher of Thunder-ten-tronckh and the tutor of Candide, Cunégonde, and the Young Baron. Read More
Cunégonde Cunégonde is Candide's cousin and love interest. Read More
Martin Martin is the pessimistic valet and traveling companion Candide hires before leaving South America. Read More
Cacambo Cacambo is the valet, or personal attendant, Candide hires to accompany him to South America. Read More
The Young Baron The Young Baron is Candide's male cousin. Read More
Abbé The Abbé of Perigord arranges several opportunities for Candide to be cheated out of his money in Paris.
Achmed III Candide dines with Achmed III, the real-life deposed sultan of Turkey, who ruled from 1703 to 1730.
Anabaptist The Anabaptist Jacques gives Candide a job and a place to stay in Holland.
Augustus III Candide dines with Augustus III, the king of Poland who lost Saxony to Prussia in 1756.
Baroness The Baroness is Baron Thunder-ten-tronckh's wife.
Baron von Thunder-ten-tronckh Baron von Thunder-ten-tronckh is Candide's uncle and the owner of the estate where Candide grows up.
British admiral The British admiral's dockside execution makes Candide reconsider entering England.
Brother Girofleo Brother Girofleo is the monk who hires Paquette for her sexual services.
Bulgar captain The Bulgar captain kills the soldier raping Cunégonde and then takes her for his own prisoner of war.
Charles Edward Candide dines with Charles Edward, the grandson of exiled King James II, who believed he had the right to the British throne. He lived in exile after a major defeat in Scotland.
Cotton mill slave The plight of the cotton mill slave, who is missing both an arm and a leg, makes Candide renounce optimism.
Crazed sailor The crazed sailor nearly falls overboard in the port of Lisbon. The Anabaptist saves him, resulting in the Anabaptist's death.
Critic The critic, seated next to Candide at the play in Paris, hates absolutely everything.
Dervish The dervish, or a man who is known for devotional Muslim exercises such as dancing, is thought to be the wisest philosopher in Turkey.
Don Fernando Don Fernando d'Ibaraa y Figureora y Mascarenes y Lampourdos y Souza is the governor of Buenos Aires who proposes to Cunégonde.
Don Issacar Don Issacar is the Jewish man to whom the Bulgar Captain sells Cunégonde.
El Doradoan elder The El Doradoan elder tells Candide and Cacambo the history of El Dorado.
Eunuch The eunuch offers to help the old woman/young princess but actually sells her to an Algerian.
Grand Inquisitor The Grand Inquisitor shares Cunégonde and the home in which she lives with Don Issacar.
Inquisition agent The Inquisition agent has dinner with Pangloss and Candide and determines the former is a heretic.
Ivan VI Candide dines with Ivan VI, the real-life Russian tsar who "ruled" as an infant in 1740 before his family was removed from the throne.
King of El Dorado The king of El Dorado doesn't think Candide and Cacambo should leave his idyllic country, but he heaps treasure and provisions on them for their journey home.
King of the Bulgars The king of the Bulgars pardons Candide from imminent execution because he can tell Candide is "unschooled in the ways of the world."
Levantine captain The Levantine captain whips Pangloss and the Young Baron as they row the ship headed to Turkey.
Magistrate The magistrate in Surinam swindles Candide out of the little money he has left after his llamas are stolen by Monsieur Vanderdendur.
Marquise de Parolignac The Marquise de Parolignac, a socialite, seduces Candide and steals two of his rings.
Monsieur Vanderdendur Monsieur Vanderdendur charges Candide an exorbitant fee to charter a ship and then steals his remaining treasure.
Old farmer The old farmer inadvertently teaches Candide and his friends that hard work is more pleasing than money.
Old woman The old woman, Cunégonde's caretaker and servant, is responsible for reuniting Candide and his beloved.
Paquette Paquette is the Baroness's chambermaid who gives Pangloss syphilis and whom Candide later meets when she is a prostitute in Paris.
Stanislaus I Candide dines with Stanislaus I, the deposed king of Poland who ruled from 1704 to 1709 and then again in 1733.
Signor Pococuranté Signor Pococuranté is the man rumored to "have never known troubles" but, in reality, dislikes everything equally.
Théodore Candide dines with Théodore, Baron von Heuhoff, a German explorer who served as the king of Corsica from 1736 to 1743.
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