Our latest episode of BitchStory is about a woman you've definitely heard of, but she is one of those historical figures that has been villainized to a wild degree - a woman villainized? No way...Do tell!
History has had zero sympathy for the Austrian Arch Duchess...which is our first fact...
#1 She was NOT French.
She was, as I just mentioned, Austrian. This didn't help her when she was just 14 when it was arranged for her to marry King Louis XVI. She was out of her depth in French Court at Versailles, where they did things in a way that was totally unfamiliar to her - especially the makeup and fashion (which ironically, she would leave an indelible mark on!). She was judged as a foreigner from the get-go and struggled to fit in. I imagine that the women of the French Court might also have been young, some of them, since girls were always married off young when possible. French Court sounds to me like Jr. High with really, really fancy clothes and tiny sandwiches and pastries.#2 She did not say "Let Them Eat Cake"!
One of the most famous quotes attributed to Marie Antoinette is "Let them eat cake" This phrase supposedly reflects her indifference to the suffering of the French poor. However, there is no historical evidence that Marie Antoinette ever said this. Furthermore, the phrase had been floating around since well before Marie was even in France! (It was first documented when Marie was just 10, and still living in Austria!) The actual phrase was "Qu'ils mangent de la brioche" literally means "Let them eat brioche," which is a rich bread made with eggs - not a cake. The first time the phrase was attributed to her was more than 50 years after the French Revolution.
#3 Her extravagance was "normal" for royalty!
I'm sure she liked to spend money. But have you seen Versailles? It's what Donald Trump's gold toilet dreams of being! It was her job to look like royalty. If she bopped around in her sweats, no one would take that seriously. The appearance of wealth reassured the people that everything was going well with France. Her style was more reflective of the court culture than of personal excess. Plus...her love of fashion and the arts have impacted history forever!
#4 She wasn't a heartless queen!
The image of Marie Antoinette as cruel and evil is largely a product of revolutionary propaganda. In reality, her actions were often constrained by the political climate and her role as a foreign queen, having married Louis XVI to solidify the alliance between France and Austria. Moreover, her efforts to aid the poor and her charitable work are often overlooked in favor of more sensationalist portrayals. She actually sold the royal flatware in order to feed the poor, and she (and Louis) founded a home for unwed mothers, among other acts of charity.
#5 She wasn't "slutty"!
She actually was a virgin for the first 7 years of her marriage to Louis. They were both kids. He was an awkward young man (who apparently had a physical issue that made sex painful). Neither were prepared for "marital acts" and it actually was Marie's brother Joseph, Arch Duke of Austria, who had to explain sex to the kids. Shortly after Joseph's sex talk, voila, they had a baby. She didn't have all kinds of lovers. Louis, unlike ALL of his predecessors, never took a lover!
So while we remember her for fancy dresses and comments about cake,
she was much more complex and influential than that...because, she was, you know...HUMAN. She was caught in a maelstrom of French upheaval and was used as a scapegoat to justify some of the violence of the revolution. In the end, she showed a great deal of courage, and
it would be nice if she was remembered for something more positive than just losing her head.
Her last words tell you a lot about her character - "Pardonnez-moi, monsieur. Je ne l'ai pas fait exprès." (Pardon me, sir. I did not do it on purpose.") - she was apologizing to her executioner for stepping on his foot prior to her execution by guillotine!
LISTEN TO THE MARIE ANTOINETTE EPISODE HERE
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