I'm sure others have read it that way, but I think it misses some of the nuance and finer points of not only the story but Voltaire's philosophy and what he is making fun of.
Just remember that we are talking specifically of that line about 'cultivating the garden' as used in "Candide." I was thinking that you are overlooking the tree for the forest.
In reading the book, I think he transcends whatever philosophical baggage he carries, making the work more of a stand-out in the process. I have thought of his mood being in the spirit of that Tolstoy-will to resort to serf-like life of work, with that temptation to chuck over all the intellectual wrangling, which can sometimes feel like mere intellectual masturbation - and that Voltaire ultimately gave vent to that feeling in "Candide."
And rather than thinking of my view as being particularly dark, I agree more to your characterization of it being zen-like. It is only 'dark' as against the idea that we can obtain some sort of enlightened world. It is true that I don't think that is a real possibility, and that the world will continue to be what it has been - as in his time, so it is today, the same world of corruption and injustice and strife, and people struggling amidst all of this to realize some personal well-being.
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Date: 2006-01-09 06:33 pm (UTC)From:Just remember that we are talking specifically of that line about 'cultivating the garden' as used in "Candide." I was thinking that you are overlooking the tree for the forest.
In reading the book, I think he transcends whatever philosophical baggage he carries, making the work more of a stand-out in the process. I have thought of his mood being in the spirit of that Tolstoy-will to resort to serf-like life of work, with that temptation to chuck over all the intellectual wrangling, which can sometimes feel like mere intellectual masturbation - and that Voltaire ultimately gave vent to that feeling in "Candide."
And rather than thinking of my view as being particularly dark, I agree more to your characterization of it being zen-like. It is only 'dark' as against the idea that we can obtain some sort of enlightened world. It is true that I don't think that is a real possibility, and that the world will continue to be what it has been - as in his time, so it is today, the same world of corruption and injustice and strife, and people struggling amidst all of this to realize some personal well-being.