Interpreting the Story of Candide

After the debate, we brought up the idea that there may be a reason for which the ending of the novella is so difficult to make sense of. I can perhaps relate this to the fact that there is never any real expressed goal or aim of Candide's journey. So what does it all mean? Well, we also brought up the potential that it might not mean anything at all, and that lack of meaning is actually the meaning itself. Perhaps, the story could be interpreted as a means to explain how any meaning determined about any story is always a matter of interpretation itself, by the readers nonetheless. Just as I am doing now, many others attempt to interpret the meaning of this novella. If this is the case, then I really have to ask: is there any real meaning intended? Or do we subconsciously reach the meaning (the lack of meaning) by not understanding? Is the fact that we don't understand mean we in fact do, at least unawarely? So, is nothing actually something?