Interesting Bet

Martin and Candide, still arguing about life and how it works, observe a monk and a happy lady. Candide remarks that the lady is happy, and makes a bet with Martin. The bet consisted of discovering if the monk and the lady were actually happy or not. If they were happy, Candide would win. If they were not, then Martin would win (obviously). Candide invites them to dinner, to discover the lives that these two had. How small the world is, that Pacquette was the "happy" girl. Pacquette was the responsible for causing all the problems for Pangloss in Westphalia. By the end of the dinner, Martin had one the bet by a mile. Pacquette's life was horrible: she was beaten, robbed, and unhappy with her life. The monk... wanted to kill himself. Candide is once again proven wrong by reality. You can't guide yourself by how people look before actually talking to them. The world is a horrible place, according to Martin. Candide thinks he'll see her loved one again, and we all know that that is unlikely. He calls Martin a pessimist, but he is just being realistic. I think that all these stories are absurd, and that Voltaire is obviously exaggerating things.

I do not know if to take Voltaire/Pococurante seriously or ironically. He might be using irony, and criticizing all the rich that think that they are better because they posses valuable things. In this case, the Pococurante possesses great pieces of art (that is: Homer, Milton, paintings, etc.). The Pococurante hates all he possesses, even though he possesses a lot of precious stuff. Well, that is according to society, since he thinks it's all crap. He criticizes all the works and books, saying that their themes are boring. There he might be being sarcastic, because gods, wars and tragedies are not at all boring. The other option, is to take Voltaire literally in this case. If you take him literally, he might be criticizing the way that ignorants don't get true art, and don't appreciate what really takes work and dedication.  If they don't get it, then they won't find the interesting part. Even his own book is an example of this. If you take Voltaire literally, the book makes no sense at all. You have to see the satire to understand the book. You have to take it outside the bubble to be one of the few privileged to actually get art and literature. Maybe he is criticizing this, and the ignorance that people have when they talk about one of these works of art without even getting it right.

Voltaire may also be emphasizing in the point that money does not make you happy. The senator, which supposedly possesses great pieces of art and a great house, hates what he possesses. He may even be making all these three points. I think that the most likely is the one of the ignorance. If he was to be ironic and be saying the opposite of what he thinks, I believe that he would use more absurdity. It is likely because his own book is hard to get and that is why many people don't really read Candide because they take Voltaire seriously. If you take Voltaire seriously, you are reading another book. In this case though, I think he is not being sarcastic or ironic, since it would be typical of him to criticize ignorance.