START: Marie Antoinette was quickly appreciated and even admired at the court. She was a beautiful young lady who enjoyed the party-filled life of Versailles. The frivolous, high-spirited tomboy who arrived at Versailles at age 14 was quickly embraced by her subjects. Yet by the time of her execution 23 years later, she was reviled. Marie Antoinette was actually extremely popular with the people when she arrived in France. They liked how she looked, how kind she was and the charities she pursued. When she visited the opera and insist everyone applaud, the did so (a moment shown in the movie).
She was on display for everyone to see and people watched her and wrote numerous accounts of her grace, her charm, her beauty. Marie Antoinette did initially have the love of the French people, but eventually the glitz, glamor, and charm of Marie Antoinette wore off and the beautiful young woman became a person of hate to the French people. What happened to make the people of France hate Marie Antoinette? Why did she lose her popularity and become public enemy number one? Why did she eventually lose her life through the guillotine? MARRIAGE: This marriage joined two individuals with different ambitions and personality.
The palace was a lone place for Antoinette (Fraser, 2001). Louis left Antoinette in the palace alone and she could do what she wanted. Apparently, she began spending colossal sums of money as a way of amusement on unnecessary things and luxuries. She went on gambling with the money losing millions in a game. Being left alone in the palace may have prompted her into compulsive shopping and spending. However, it can be perceived otherwise when her mother claims that Antoinette was not doing anything useful at Versailles. We could easily tell that this was the nature of Antoinette’s character and personality.
She only lacked the opportunity so to speak; thus be termed as a self-absorbed spendthrift. Marie Antoinette was lonely and heartbroken. She had to endure the strict French court rituals and protocol, people talking behind her back, and a husband who did not want to consummate their marriage. She was so pretty and sweet, but did not feel confident or comfortable around the royal family. People in the royal family such as the Mesdames, the sisters of the King of France constantly talked behind her back and tried to use her in schemes and Marie Antoinette had a poor relationship with the king’s favorite and mistress, Madame du Barry. Life was not happy for the Dauphine of France. Marie Antoinette was lonely due the lack of affection by her husband, the protocol of the strict court, and people taking behind her back. She was constantly being reprimanded in letters by her mother who wanted her to consummate the marriage and warning her that her home country’s happiness and success depended on Marie Antoinette’s new life in her married country. As a result, Marie Antoinette began to spend and live lavishly. She became the center of fashion in France with extravagant gowns and hairstyles, gambled excessively, and threw expensive parties.
Gambling was not an uncommon way to pass the time. Marie Antoinette built up her own circle of friends who would spend nights gambling and talking and certainly drinking. Louis XVI was not very into this kind of lifestyle, but that didn’t mean that he did not spend money. Everyone who lived in the palace at Versailles spent what we would all consider an exorbitant amount of money on clothes. However, her relationship with her husband was the subject of much sarcasm. The couple didn’t have any children and the people of Paris found this suspicious.
LONELY/BORED: Partying and money are shown as the only salvation for the circumstances befalling Antoinette. With partying and spending Antoinette is able to deal with her emotional difficulties. All the same, it worked to her disadvantage. Her name has been tarnished the more. All cannot be blamed on her but her character and way of doing things may have made the situation worse than it would have been. Marie Antoinette was either a self-absorbed spendthrift bankrupting the nation, or a victim of both personal and historical circumstances beyond her control as perceived from different angles.
Being a daughter of the holy Roman Emperor and marriage arranged for her, one would say that what befell her was not her choice. Gambling (she was bored to tears in Versailles and felt the need for distractions and fun. ? Organizing too many balls, feasts, opera’s and other parties. ? Spending too much money on clothing, headdresses, interior design etc. that were en vogue at the moment (though, throughout her entire reign, she was the only queen of France that had spent less than any other queen of France before her.
All the former queens had spent much more! ) One of the first things to remember about Marie Antoinette is that for most of her life she was bored. Keeping company with hedonists group as a way of steeling away from boredom made her spend a lot on bountiful parties (Weber, 2006). Marie Antoinette had the bad reputation of partying a lot, spending huge amount of money in casino games and having affairs with other men. Marie was well-known to have spent wildly as a young queen before tempering things as she matured.
DIAMON NECKLACE AFFAIR: Probably the biggest cause of criticism was what is called the “Diamond Necklace Affair. ” In short, Antoinette had a noble necklace offered to be made for her out of diamonds. When she accepted and then found that the necklace was a fake, she became very angry at the con artists, Jeanne de la Motte and Cardinal de Rohan. In the end, Jeanne de la Motte was convicted, but sadly, Cardinal de Rohan was acquitted. In 1785, the “Marie Antoinette diamond necklace” affaire spread all over the country. Marie Antoinette was victim of a scam.
Jeanne De La Motte Valois pretended to be the queen and by stealing her identity, she stole a huge amount of money from the Cardinal de Rohan. The queen was not directly involved in that scandal but her image was discredited. Marie Antoinette was then nicknamed “Madame Deficit” by the people of France. She tried to clear her bad reputation by promoting the image of a caring mother, which she obviously was, but this wasn’t enough to calm the angry protesters. In 1785-86 the affair of the Diamond Necklace revealed the depth of the hatred which her own follies and the calumnies of her enemies had aroused against her.
The public held her responsible for the bankrupt state of the country; The queen’s lack of popularity was evident from the start, and continued to mount, as her life was almost continually embroiled in scandal. The Diamond Necklace Affair is a perfect example of how the queen’s indiscretions and infidelities undercut the authority of the monarch. Cardinal de Rohan bought the Queen a large diamond necklace, supposedly in return for sexual favors. Although the real events surrounding the diamond necklace are not fully known, the affair caused many of the public to dub her the “Austrian Whore. Countless pamphlets were published, spreading malicious rumors about the queen. Many pornographic drawings depicting the queen with numerous lovers, both male and female were circulated. Often, it was jealous courtiers who would instigate the material for these publications. Because it became her downfall. The whole affair did not include her at all, but she was impersonated by an actress (who was actually a prostitute who looked a lot like her) and the French had already heard such ridiculous rumours about their queen that this sham seemed believable.
The French wanted to believe in the wickedness of Marie Antoinette, even though she was perfectly innocent. FRANCE’S ECONOMY + POLITICS: France was already almost bankrupt when Marie Antoinette stepped in the picture, and because the French needed someone to blame it all on, and she was Austrian, she was the perfect victim. The people tried to make all of France believe that she had no concern for her people, spending money on wigs and dresses and throwing wild parties while the population was starving and desperate.
The French Court had a reputation for extravagant luxury long before Marie Antoinette joined it in 1770 as a young bride. France was, of course, the home of fashion and style. All Europe wanted to look French. By 1774, as Queen of France Marie Antoinette was expected to continue that great tradition and be the first lady of fashion, at once both leading fashion and representing French fashion designers and creators. It was the expense though of her wardrobe which became just one more reason to dislike her among the revolutionaries. The French Revolution was the downfall of the pretty and pleasure loving Queen of France.
This charming queen may have worn a huge smile on her face, threw lavish parties, and was always wearing the latest fashions, but the smile she wore hid pain and sadness, feelings that were there long before the French Revolution. Other claims paradoxically state that Antoinette’s entry into France was followed by bad omen. She is portrayed as a rejected wife, girl and a reason why the nation has no money (Fraser, 2001). Generally, whether Marie Antoinette was a self-absorbed spendthrift bankrupting the nation, or a victim of both personal and historical circumstances beyond her control is a conclusion that cannot be jumped into.
The turn out of events are partly in support and partly in disagreement that Antoinette’s behavior is as a result of both personal and historical circumstances she could not manage (Weber, 2006). On the contrary, these circumstances were not a reason enough for her to behave that way. Her in-born character betrayed her. Therefore it is possible that Antoinette was naturally a squanderer although the scenario could have been facilitated by the issues in her life. ? Making fun of etiquette rules (she hated all the rules and sensitive ego’s that were involved in accomplishing them.
She refused to wear her corset for quite a while, rode donkeys, had male-pants made for herself because she refused to ride horses with 2 legs on one side (she wanted to ride the male way because that felt better and she could go faster) broke the etiquette rules so a lot of people got offended etc. Marie Antoinette, (1755–1793), queen of France as the wife of Louis XVI. Born on November 2, 1755, she was a daughter of Maria Theresa of Austria. She married Louis in 1770, four years before he ascended to the throne. Marie Antoinette enjoyed great popularity at first.
Gradually, however, members of the royal court turned against her, as she ignored her French advisors and continued to depend on Austrian relatives for guidance. Also, her extravagant behavior and apparent unconcern for the welfare of the people brought their hatred upon her. According to legend, she responded to news that the people had no bread by saying, Let them eat cake. They actually had to wait 8 years for the first royal baby to be born. The Hameau has long been at the heart of criticism of Marie-Antoinette, much of which was fabricated in the service of an increasingly revolutionary agenda.
For instance, she never dressed up as a shepherdess or a milkmaid, though that story has been repeated for generations, even by reputable historians. This legend helped characterize the Hameau as a sort of mean-spirited mockery of peasant life, the royal equivalent of blackface. Another rumor was that the interiors at theHameau were encrusted in jewels and other over-the-top extravagances. In 1789, a revolutionary committee came to inspect the Queen’s domain for evidence of irresponsible overspending, and were surprised by the relative modesty they found.
Its creation, however, unexpectedly caused another uproar when the actual price of the Hameau was inflated by her critics. Queen consort of Louis XVI of France. The daughter of Emperor Francis I and Maria Theresa, she was married in 1770 to the French dauphin. After he became king (1774), she was criticized for her extravagance and frivolous circle of court favourites. She was unjustly implicated in the Affair of the Diamond Necklace (1786), which discredited the monarchy. After the French Revolution began, she influenced Louis to resist attempts by the National Assembly to restrict the royal prerogative.
She became the target of agitators, who attributed to her the celebrated remark, after being told the people had no bread, Let them eat cake! She tried to save the crown by negotiating secretly with monarchist factions and with her brother, Emperor Leopold II. News of her intrigues further enraged the French and led to the overthrow of the monarchy (1792). After a year in prison, she was tried and guillotined in 1793. She was the queen of France at the outbreak of the French Revolution. In 1770 she was married to the French Dauphin, who 4 years later ascended the throne as Louis XVI.
The personalities of the two rulers were very different while Louis XVI was phlegmatic and withdrawn, Marie Antoinette was strong, but care free. Raised at one court and married into another at fourteen. Also when she was born she had already been promised for marriage. She became the symbol for everything that was wrong with the country and a good deal of the hatred which was directed at the royalty as a whole found its way to direct hatred for the Queen. Her appearance and manners, which were carefully cultivated to be proper and noble, began to appear haughty.
People thought that Marie Antoinette was laughing at them and looking down on them while spending the country into ruin. A combination of spending too much as royal living accorded, going into debt by aiding the American Revolution, and excluding the poor voices from government (in addition to other nuances – sorry for the basic version) led the people to think that maybe kings weren’t the best way to go. Louis was not a forceful personality and often had trouble making decisions, which didn’t help matters. An Austrian princess, Marie Antoinette (1755-1793) was never popular with the French public.
She was often accused of putting Austrian interests ahead of those of her husband’s kingdom. Her unpopularity was increased by her extravagant spending, which was often unfairly connected with the grave financial difficulties that beset France in the 1780s. This uncertain position put her in danger in the revolutionary period. Marie Antoinette grew very unpopular. The financial state of France was a mess and many blamed the pleasure loving queen. She was also involved in Diamond Necklace Affair where she was portrayed in an extremely negative light.
Contrary to popular belief, Marie Antoinette never said the famed line “Let them eat cake. “, but she still was the most unpopular person in France for her extravagant ways in the past. Marie Antoinette tried to better herself presenting an image as a devoted mother to the public and played a role in politics, but it was not enough. Marie Antoinette would forever be unpopular to the French people. On October 16, 1793, Marie-Antoinette was beheaded. It was on this day that France lost one of its most controversial figures. She was a key figure in turning the anger and frustration of the French people into revolution.
Whether one despised or respected Queen Marie-Antoinette, her role will be argued about for many centuries. Marie Antoinette is one of the most glittering queens and females of our time. Beautiful, controversial, glamorous, hated, misunderstood, and tragic, this doomed queen is so fascinating. What was she really like? An extravagant queen who only cared for herself and pleasure or a lonely and sad young woman in an unfriendly country? It is quite possible she was both and even more. Antonia Fraser. Marie Antoinette: The Journey History Channel website, http://www. history. com/topics/french-revolution
