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There lived at Babylon in the time of King Moabdar a young man called Zadig, whose amiable character had been improved by a good education. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Zadig takes place in the middle east. The title character is a well-meaning chap (in many ways he is much like Candide himself). He encounters a great many perilous situations which make his demeanor more and more melancholy. In a sort of Deus ex machina (which I'm sure was a deliberate satire in & of itself on Voltaire's behalf) he experiences a reversal-of-fortune. Voltaire singles out those who believe in astrology / fate / divine plans in gently revealing how silly those belief systems are.
L'Ingenu is an interesting story about a Huron Indian who ends up (in of all places!) France. The Huron has learned to speak French, but he struggles mightily in trying to understand French customs as well as the way the French think. L'Ingenu is called the "child of nature" as he is so oblivious to the supposed "superior" and more civilized French. Voltaire subtly points out the flaws of French society by juxtaposing the Huron who ends up being unjustly jailed by an oppressive and unjust government.
For fans of the French Enlightenment, reading Voltaire is a must. And, for that matter, most Americans SHOULD be fans of Enlightenment thinking as it helped to inspire the American revolution which threw off the yoke of British oppression. The seeds of those revolutionary ideas can be found in the writings of Voltaire. That alone should compel you to read his works (I hope?). One is bound to find Voltaire to be like a historical old friend to us all.
Much as science fiction writers sometimes mask the satire of our world in technological allegory, so Voltaire uses the setting of ancient Babylon to critique French society and beyond that, the customs of all of Europe. Zadig is young nobleman who falls into all kinds of troubles as he tries to make his way through life. He's a nice guy that doesn't deserve such troubles. For example, when his fiance is being kidnapped, he is struck by an arrow and the doctor says he won't live. When Zadig does survive, the doctor is angry at him because he survived! Then his fiance dumps him. Zadig will have to fight against treacherous kings, mages, women, thieves, actually just about everyone in the world turns against him.
The second work contained in this volume is L'Ingenu (The Child of Nature). In Volataire's time, and even in our time, Native Americans are romanticized as being closer to Nature. They didn't litter, they didnt destroy environments, etc. They were at one with the land. A lot of that is hokey. But in L'Ingenu we encounter this stereotype in the form of The Child of Nature, supposedly an Huron Indian visiting the high society of France. He ends up being the long lost nephew of the very French Abbe he is visiting. Of course, as soon as the Abbe learns this he tries to convert him to Christianity. What ensues is similar to Zadig. The Child of Nature most overcome all the lies and deceptions of the modern world in order to find his happiness.
I have to say that after reading 3 works by Voltaire, I'm not that impressed. To me, Candide was no big whoop. These two works bookend that famous work and inform it to some extent. Zadig seems to have been a warmup pitch for Candide and is equal in art to that work. In fact I would say they were interchangeable. If you've read one, you don't have to read the other. L'Ingenu on the other hand seems to go a little deeper. It criticizes the Church quite violently and actually dispenses with the comedy by its end. I've read many comedies funnier than this and tragedies more poignant. Don't come to this book expecting greatness.
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