Doctor who thought suffering and bereavement were for the best (8)
I believe the answer is:
pangloss
'doctor who thought suffering' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both people as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'and bereavement were for the best' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'and' could be 'n' (common abbreviation for 'and') and 'n' is found within the answer.
'bereavement' could be 'loss' (I've seen this before) and 'loss' is located in the answer.
'best' could be 'a' and 'a' is located in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for pangloss that I've seen before include "one remains optimistic" , "optimistic person" , "Unshakable optimist" .)