The novella Candide, by French Enlightenment author Voltaire, tells a turbulent and sensational story that pokes fun at certain types of people, certain philosophies, and even life itself. Candide parodies the ups and downs of life in its exaggerated and often startling changes from happiness to dismay, contentment to regret. One specific person that Candide parodies is Jesus Christ, Whose impersonation can be seen in the character of Pangloss. Pangloss appears to display an inverted and satirical imitation of Jesus in his attitude towards the death of a friend, in the circumstances surrounding his own death, and in his apparent “resurrection.”
Pangloss’s reaction when a friend dies is a parody of Jesus’ reaction to the illness and death of His friend, Lazarus. In Chapter 5 of Candide, Pangloss and his student, Candide, see their friend, Jacques, fall from their ship and into the sea (Voltaire 12). Candide immediately attempts to jump in and save Jacques, but Pangloss stops Candide and tells him this particular body of water was “formed expressly for [Jacques] to be drowned in” (Voltaire 12). Later, after Pangloss and Candide have come ashore, they both weep for the loss of their friend (Voltaire 12). Pangloss’ reaction to the death of Jacques is similar to and yet very different from Jesus’ reaction to the death of Lazarus. When Jesus first learns of Lazarus’ illness, He states that the illness exists “for God’s glory.” Two days later, after Lazarus has already been interred, He travels to Lazarus’ tomb and weeps (John 11:4-35 New International Version). Pangloss and Jesus both state that the existence of the sea and the existence of the illness are for specific purposes. However, a glaring difference between these reactions lies in the fact that after Pangloss finishes weeping over Jacques, he never mentions Jacques’s name again (Voltaire 12-13). In contrast, Jesus calls Lazarus from the tomb by name and brings him back to life (John 11:35-44 NIV). Since Pangloss is a parody of Jesus, his actions and attitude concerning his friend’s death are startlingly parallel and yet extremely different when compared with those of Jesus concerning the death of Lazarus.
Not only can similarities be found between Pangloss and Jesus regarding their reactions to the deaths of their friends, but similarities can also be found in the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Pangloss and Jesus themselves. In Chapter 6, Pangloss is arrested by the Inquisitors, imprisoned, and then dressed in a costume and hanged (Voltaire 14-15). Immediately after Pangloss is hanged, the earth quakes “with a fearful crash” (Voltaire 15). Similarly, soldiers arrest Jesus, dress Him in a scarlet robe, and hang Him on a cross (Matthew 26:50; 27:31 NIV). After Jesus dies, the earth shakes and rocks are split apart (Matthew 27:50-51 NIV). Another interesting parallel is that the costume with which Pangloss is clothed is described to be decorated with “flames upside down” and devils with “claws and tails” (Voltaire 15), symbols associated with sin and Hell. Pangloss is, in a sense, dressed in sin to be led to his death, and the same could be said for Jesus. Jesus became sin itself by taking all the sins of the world on Himself, but unlike Pangloss, He had never actually sinned (2 Corinthians 5:21). However, aside from the difference in the instruments of execution, namely that Pangloss is hung on a gallows and Jesus on a cross, there is also nothing in the text to suggest that Pangloss’ death was like Jesus’ in terms of the self-sacrificial and salvific nature and effects of Jesus’ death. Pangloss was not sacrificing his life for someone else, nor did he seem to have any choice in the matter or any way to protect himself, in contrast with Jesus, Who could have called armies of angels to defend Him (Matthew 26:53 NIV). Pangloss’ death is very different from Jesus’ death, and what happens after both of their deaths is quite different as well.
One significant difference in the deaths of Jesus and Pangloss lies in what happens to them after their deaths—namely, their resurrections. Several chapters after Pangloss has been hung, Candide and his companions are shocked when they encounter Pangloss, alive (Voltaire 86). However, in almost jesting contrast to the supernatural phenomenon of Jesus’ resurrection (John 20:2-18 NIV), Pangloss’ return from death is explained as the natural result of the fact that he never actually died (Voltaire 88). A further distinction lies in the fact that when Candide and his companions come upon Pangloss after his pseudo-resurrection, he is in a state of slavery and it is necessary for Candide to purchase his liberty (Voltaire 86-87), offering yet another contrast to the concept that Jesus, through His death and resurrection, purchased freedom for His people (1 Timothy 2:6 NIV). Because Pangloss is a mere mortal, his freedom can be taken from him by other men and, since he does not have the divine power that Jesus possesses, he is incapable of raising himself from the dead.
Those who believe in Jesus and His resurrection believe that Jesus was able to truly rise from the dead because He is not only a man, but also God, and therefore He is capable of bringing about their salvation. In contrast, Candide’s faith in Pangloss results in the death of Candide’s curious and hopeful attitude, rendering his response to life at the end of the story one of apathy and the belief that one is better off “working without reasoning” and “cultivat[ing] [one’s] garden” (Voltaire 95-96). When we compare and contrast the similarities and differences between Pangloss and Jesus through a Biblical lens, it becomes clear that hope for salvation, if placed in a mortal, will ultimately fail. However, followers of Jesus Christ believe that Jesus is God and that the belief they devote to Him will ultimately lead to eternal life. Their faith keeps them looking forward to their inheritance as children of God. Jesus said that He came to give those who believe and trust in Him the ability—not only to survive—but also to thrive. (John 10:10 NIV). Those who place their hope and trust in human sources of salvation will never find true contentment, whether they blindly follow a Pangloss through the countryside, or—having seen through such a false source of hope—they turn inward in their disillusionment to “tend their own garden” and place their trust in themselves.
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