Candide (Gildan Media Edition) characters

Appears from the start

A good-natured young man raised in the Baron of Thunder-ten-tronckh's household. He accepts his tutor Pangloss's optimistic philosophy and has little experience of hardship when his affection for Cunegonde gets him expelled from the castle.

Appears from the start

The baron's daughter and the object of Candide's love. Curious and sheltered, she returns his affection, and their first kiss leads to his banishment from her family's home.

Appears from the start

Tutor in the baron's household and Candide's teacher. He argues that every event belongs to the best possible version of the world, a system Candide initially trusts without reservation.

Also known as The Baron of Thunder-ten-tronckh

Appears from the start

Cunegonde's father, a proud Westphalian nobleman whose castle is Candide's childhood home. He drives Candide away after discovering the young couple together.

Appears from the start

A maid in the baron's household whom Cunegonde observes in a private encounter with Pangloss.

Also known as The Anabaptist

First appears in chapter 3

A compassionate Anabaptist merchant in Holland. After another man rejects the hungry Candide, Jacques gives him food, work, and shelter.

First appears in chapter 7

An elderly servant who secretly tends Candide after the Lisbon auto-da-fe and leads him to safety. Practical, resourceful, and accustomed to suffering, she serves Cunegonde and manages the party's escape.

First appears in chapter 8

A wealthy Jewish merchant in Lisbon who has made Cunegonde dependent on him and shares access to her under an uneasy arrangement with the Grand Inquisitor.

First appears in chapter 8

A powerful Lisbon church official who competes with Don Issachar for control of Cunegonde and presides over the auto-da-fe at which Candide and Pangloss are punished.

First appears in chapter 13

Candide's quick-witted servant in South America. Familiar with the region's languages and customs, he recognizes the danger in Buenos Aires and helps Candide escape.

Also known as The Young Baron

First appears in chapter 14

Cunegonde's brother, believed by Candide to have died in the attack on the family castle but now a Jesuit commander in Paraguay. He is delighted to encounter someone connected to his former home.

First appears in chapter 19

An impoverished scholar whom Candide selects in Surinam as a traveling companion. Repeated misfortune has made him a committed pessimist, providing a sustained counterargument to Pangloss.

First appears in chapter 25

A wealthy Venetian senator famous for his magnificent home, art, books, and gardens. Candide expects contentment from him, but Martin suspects that privilege has only refined his dissatisfaction.

First appears in chapter 30

A modest farmer near Constantinople who supports his family through steady work and avoids public affairs. His peaceful household offers Candide a practical example of a life not governed by speculative philosophy.