Satirical Criticism Of Organized Religion In Voltaire's Candide

Voltaire’s Candide often encompasses all forms of organized religion in its satirical criticism. Don Issachar, a Jewish banker and owner of Cunegonde, is depicted as mingy and wicked in comparison to James, the Anabaptist, who is portrayed as an arrogantly optimistic man who ultimately dies as a result in his inability to turn away from someone “in need”. The Inquisitor is a man of unwavering devotion in his religion and how he interprets it, and then Brother Giroflee serves to contrast the Inquisitor as an unwilling servant to is religion. These four characters not only serve as one another’s foils but also as examples of Voltaire’s mockery of religion. Don Issachar is a man of high standing in his community but only due to his wealth. He is presented as a man who values money above all things including women, even though he “had a weakness for women”(41), which is demonstrated by his willingness to share Cunegonde with the Inquisitor. Voltaire’s decision to

This character could easily be compared to Voltaire himself as they both show an outward aversion towards religion. Giroflee’s small role in this psychodrama is spent telling Candide how he was forced into being a monk and how horrible it has been for him thus far. The Inquisitor foils Brother Giroflee in the fact that he is overzealous about his religion and other beliefs. He is a cruel and brutal man who “forced the Jew’s hand”(42) into sharing Cunegonde. He then “threaten(s) (Don Issachar) with an auto-da-fe”(42) as a means of acquiring Cunegonde permanently and fully . The Inquisitor represents those of whom take their religion to dangerous and violent lengths. He is in fact the one who orders the floggings and the auto-da-fe in this text and revels in its being carried