Is Martin Luther Represented in Candide?

Abstract

Voltaire’s Candide, a novella about finding happiness in a chaotic world, explores the conflict between optimists and pessimists while critiquing religion in what is often listed among the greatest works of satire written in any language. In this presentation, I argue that Voltaire intended for his cynical character Martin, to be a satirical representation of the Protestant reformer, Martin Luther. I make this argument by comparing when and how Voltaire introduces his character in the story with Luther's biographical information, and Martin's adversarial relationship with the optimistic Pangloss, who it has been established represents Gottfried Willhelm Leibniz, and philosophic and theological evidence of both Luther and Leibniz, all to show that Martin is representative of the father of Lutheranism.

Discipline: English

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Asma Sayed