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Although Jacques the Anabaptist only appears in the novella for three short chapters, he nevertheless serves an important role in the progression of the plot and in Voltaire’s thematic arguments. Candide first meets Jacques in Holland after a Protestant orator harasses him, and his generosity is immediately apparent. In addition to welcoming a stranger into his home, Jacques cleans him up, feeds him, supports his recovery, and employs him. He also goes on to extend support to Pangloss at Candide’s request. All of these actions allow Jacques to represent a very different approach to religion than many of the other religious leaders in the novella, allowing Voltaire to make a more nuanced critique of such institutions. Many other characters, such as the Protestant orator, those involved in the Inquisition, and the Baron, call attention to the hypocrisies and failings of Christianity’s authority figures, but Jacques truly embraces the values of his faith. He highlights the potential that religion has to impact an individual’s moral code.
Despite the goodness that he exudes, Jacques has a rather pessimistic view of the world, and he ultimately falls victim to the suffering that he describes. He argues with Pangloss over the philosophy of Optimism, suggesting that mankind has corrupted itself by creating the tools used to inflict pain. By challenging such an oversimplified philosophy, this debate functions as a microcosm of Voltaire’s attempts to satirize Enlightenment thinkers. Jacques’s point of view also makes his untimely death even more tragic as it calls attention to the intentional act of cruelty behind it. Acting in good faith as he always does, Jacques saves a drowning sailor, and while he succeeds in that endeavor, the sailor subsequently fails to do the same for him. This abrupt end to Jacques’s life seems to imply that, for as much kindness as he brings to the world, the forces of evil are inherently stronger. Furthermore, he does not have a moment of resurrection like Cunégonde, Pangloss, or the Baron, all of whom represent a different aspect of mankind’s flaws. Jacques’s death raises questions about the viability of altruism in a world largely dominated by suffering.
