Candide · Character

The Baron of Thunder-ten-tronckh

A Westphalian lord whose castle gate and windows pass for grandeur, he rules his household as proof that this is the best of all possible worlds.

supporting

Also known as The Baron, Baron, the Jesuit Baron de Thunder-ten-tronckh, Westphalian Baron

First appearance: candide

As a supporting figure in Candide, The Baron of Thunder-ten-tronckh is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

A powerful Westphalian lord who discovers Candide kissing his daughter and expels Candide from the castle with kicks.

In the storyHow Candide Was Brought Up in a Magnificent Castle, and How He Was Expelled ThenceOpen this moment free

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The Baron of Thunder-ten-tronckh presides over the small, self-satisfied universe of Candide's childhood, where his tapestry-hung hall and pack of farmyard hounds are treated as evidence of cosmic order. His vanity is structural, not incidental: he laughs at his own stories, tolerates no rival to his rank, and expels Candide for kissing Cunégonde, an act that shatters the boy's paradise. That banishment launches the entire picaresque, making the Baron the first agent of the disillusionment the book will spend its length examining.

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Character Web

12 connections

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Other

Character groups

Candide's core companions
Protagonist

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

In this scene, Candide reaches his emotional and psychological peak of disillusionment when he encounters Poco…

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In the story

The Baron of Thunder-ten-tronckh appears across 9 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

How Candide Was Brought Up in a Magnificent Castle, and How He Was Expelled Thence
A powerful Westphalian lord who discovers Candide kissing his daughter and expels Candide from the castle with kicks.
IV: How Candide Found His Old Master Pangloss, and What Happened to Them
Reported killed by Bulgarian soldiers while trying to defend his daughter.
XIV: How Candide and Cacambo Were Received by the Jesuits of Paraguay
Revealed as the Jesuit Commandant in Paraguay, alive and well.
XV: How Candide Killed the Brother of His Dear Cunégonde
Reveals himself as a Jesuit colonel in Paraguay; insults Candide and is killed by him.
XVI: Adventures of the Two Travellers, with Two Girls, Two Monkeys, and the Savages Called Oreillons
Referenced as the Jesuit officer Candide killed, whose spoils Candide wears, leading to the Oreillons' initial mistake.
XVIII: What They Saw in the Country of El Dorado
Referenced by Candide when comparing El Dorado to the Baron's castle.
Chapter XXVII: Candide's Voyage to Constantinople
Found as a galley slave, ransomed by Candide, and acknowledges his debt with a nod.
Chapter XXVIII: What Happened to Candide, Cunégonde, Pangloss, Martin, etc.
Recounts his capture by Spanish troops, imprisonment, and condemnation to the galleys for bathing naked with a young Mussulman.
Chapter XXIX: How Candide Found Cunégonde and the Old Woman Again
Pales at seeing Cunégonde; refuses to allow her marriage to Candide, insisting on a baron.

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See The Baron of Thunder-ten-tronckh in candide

See The Baron of Thunder-ten-tronckh in How Candide Was Brought Up in a Magnificent Castle, and How He Was Expelled Thence