Coming of Age and Philosophy

     One parallel to Robinson's Housekeeping did not become apparent to me until the end of the book.  The book could be summarized as a sort of manifesto for a certain philosophy wrapped in one or, depending on your view, several stories of coming-of-age.  When I thought of the book this way, I was reminded of another book with a similar setup: Candide.  Though the books are fundamentally different, I still find it interesting that they both concern the maturation of people and are heavily steeped in philosophy.

   Published in 1759, Candide is Voltaire's most famous work and is a critique of the time.  Despite its age, many of the subjects it tackles are still alarmingly apparent today: freedom of speech and religion, religious discrimination, and human subjugation are just a few of many examples.  Highly satirical, the main purpose of Candide is to disprove the extreme optimism put forth by Leibniz.  The story is rather simple: a young (but illegitimately born) nobleman, Candide is banished from the Eden-like palace in which he grew up and has to learn to get along.  He wanders throughout the world, learning about many different people and their circumstances.  As he is confronted with the great cruelty and injustice present in the world, he questions what he had been taught by his tutor, Doctor Pangloss, who represents the optimism of Leibniz.  After many horrific experiences (and seeming resurrections), Candide affirms that "it is necessary to cultivate one's garden"--a statement to be read both literally and figuratively.

     While this may not seem very similar to Housekeeping, they both share the aspect of philosophical exploration coupled with coming-of-age.  The differences lie in style and subject matter.  Candide is a satire, and constantly makes fun of just about everything, while Housekeeping, with its odd humor, still definitely has a more serious tone.  (This is not to say that the arguments or meaning of Candide are not serious.)  Candide is feels like less of a bildungsroman than Housekeeping, as the story does not seem to serve much purpose other than to illustrate the philosophy.  The story of Housekeeping does reflect the philosophy described in the book, however, it reads more like a novel than Candide.  Voltaire parallels Candide's development with his philosophy, and we see him grow up mentally in part by forming his ideas and questioning what he knew before.  Robinson is philosophical from the beginning, though the ideas she discusses are often paired with the protagonist's experiences, and in some ways explain the character's development.  In this way the two works are similar--they put forth philosophical ideas and develop them at the pace of their narrator's development.  They are two very different books to read (one reason being that Candide does not induce quite the same existential questioning as Housekeeping), but they both give philosophical insights through the story of young people's development.