# Candide — Character guide

> Key figures in Candide by Voltaire.

- [Candide](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/candide_se/characters/candide.md): Optimistic young man expelled from his castle, journeying through adventures to find his beloved Cunégonde.
- [Cunégonde](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/candide_se/characters/cunegonde.md): Candide's beloved, a beautiful young woman who endures many misfortunes across Europe and South America.
- [Pangloss](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/candide_se/characters/pangloss.md): Candide's tutor, an optimistic philosopher who insists all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds.
- [Martin](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/candide_se/characters/martin.md): A pessimistic scholar who travels with Candide, offering a cynical counterpoint to Pangloss's optimism.
- [Cacambo](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/candide_se/characters/cacambo.md): Candide's resourceful valet who accompanies him through South America and helps him escape dangers.
- [The Old Woman](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/candide_se/characters/old_woman.md): A wise and worldly servant who cares for Cunégonde and Candide, sharing her own tragic life story.
- [Paquette](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/candide_se/characters/paquette.md): A young woman who was the chambermaid in the Baron's castle and later becomes a prostitute.
- [The Baron of Thunder-ten-tronckh](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/candide_se/characters/baron_thunder_ten_tronckh.md): Cunégonde's brother, a Jesuit in Paraguay who opposes Candide's marriage to his sister.
- [James the Anabaptist](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/candide_se/characters/james_anabaptist.md): A kind Anabaptist who helps Candide and Pangloss in Lisbon before dying in a shipwreck.
- [Lord Pococurante](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/candide_se/characters/pococurante.md): A wealthy Venetian nobleman who is bored with all his possessions and art.
- [Friar Giroflée](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/candide_se/characters/friar_girofl%C3%A9e.md): A discontented friar who becomes Paquette's lover and later meets Candide in Venice.
- [Don Issachar](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/candide_se/characters/don_issachar.md): A Jewish merchant who shares Cunégonde with the Grand Inquisitor in Lisbon.
- [The Grand Inquisitor](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/candide_se/characters/grand_inquisitor.md): A Portuguese church official who claims Cunégonde as his mistress and is killed by Candide.
- [Mynheer Vanderdendur](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/candide_se/characters/vanderdendur.md): A dishonest Dutch merchant who cheats Candide in Surinam and steals his money.
- [King Theodore](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/candide_se/characters/king_theodore.md): A deposed king met by Candide and Martin at a supper with six strangers.
- [The Perigordian Abbé](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/candide_se/characters/abb%C3%A9_perigordian.md): A French abbé who guides Candide through Paris society and introduces him to entertainments.
- [Miss Clairon](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/candide_se/characters/miss_clairon.md): A famous French actress whom Candide meets during his stay in Paris.
- [The Marchioness](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/candide_se/characters/marchioness.md): A Parisian noblewoman who hosts Candide and attempts to seduce him.
- [The Aga](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/candide_se/characters/aga.md): A Turkish official who buys Candide and his companions as slaves in Constantinople.
- [Charles Edward Stuart](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/candide_se/characters/charles_edward.md): The exiled Stuart pretender to the British throne, met at the supper of six strangers.
- [Pope Urban X](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/candide_se/characters/pope_urban_x.md): Mentioned as the Old Woman's father, a pope who never existed in history.
- [Archdeacon Trublet](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/candide_se/characters/archdeacon_trublet.md): A French literary figure briefly mentioned in the Paris episode.
- [The Theatin](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/candide_se/characters/theatin.md): A monk who accompanies Candide and Martin in Paris.
- [The Oreillons](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/candide_se/characters/oreillons.md): A tribe of South American savages who capture Candide and Cacambo but later befriend them.
- [Voltaire](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/candide_se/characters/voltaire.md): The author appears as a character in the endnotes, commenting on the story.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/candide_se/characters