Marie Antoinette Analyzing the Rumours and Myths as...

First, some background information  Born Nov. 2 nd, 1755 in Vienna  Became the Daupline of France at 14 when she married Louis-Auguste  Youngest daughter of Francis I of Holy Roman Empire and Maria Theresa  Lived a quiet and private childhood, French life would be a shock  Several of her siblings were set up fro arranged marriages to consolidate various alliances her mother had set up  Many of her siblings died of small pox and she was left being the only potential bride for Louis-Auguste  Handed over to French bearers on May 7 th 1770

 Relatively popular at first because of her charm and beauty  Not liked by older members of the court because of long standing conflicts with Austria  Would not acknowledge Madame du Barry  Accused at laughing at other older women in the court  Her and the King taking a long time to consummate marriage and produce heir  Had 4 children, (Marie-Therese Charlotte, Louis Xavier, Louis Charles and Marie Sophie Helen)  Bad political image led her concentrate on her children  After the storming of the Bastille (beginning of revolution), Women march to Versailles and take the royal family to the tuileries palace in Paris  Executed on Oct 16 th, 1793.

Myth #1: She said “Let them eat cake”  Myth: Supposedly she said when hearing the peasants had no bread “Let them eat cake.”  Reflects unawareness of lower class problems.  Statement first appeared in Jean Jacques Rousseau’s Confessions in She was only 13 then.  Rousseau vaguely referred to a “great princess”  Also this statement appeared in a letter Rousseau wrote in 1757, 18 years before Antoinette's birth  Famous Biographer Antonia Fraser wrote in 2002 that Rousseau is likely referring to Marie-Therese, Louis XIV’s wife

 Attributed to her because she was often a scapegoat for France’s problems  Also bread was the staple of the lower class diet so it was fitting for the time  Some believe that Rousseau created this statement himself  Verdict:

Myth #2: She Participated in a Diamond Necklace Scandal 2,000,000 livres [$100 million today]

 Myth: People of France persisted that Marie Antoinette had participated in this Scandal  An extravagant necklace designed for Madame du Barry  Louis XV died, jeweller tries to sell it to the new Queen  Countess de LeMotte, acting as a con-artist conceives a plan  She became the mistress of Cardinal de Rohan, a former French ambassador to the court of Vienna  The Cardinal wanted to win the Queen’s favour in order to gain a position as one of the King’s ministers.  The Countess tells him that she is speaking well about him to the Queen, but is lying  A fake correspondence is created between “Queen” and Cardinal

 LaMotte hires a prostitute to act as the Queen  This fake queen lets Rohan know she wants to purchase the necklace but needs to borrow the funds to save her public image  Worked it out that he would pay in instalments and met with a messenger to do the exchange  When the funds were insufficient, the jeweller complained to the Queen...who said she didn't know what he was talking about  Rohan called to court to state his story, he a letter signed by the Queen, signed Marie Antoinette de France... They didn’t use surnames  Rohan arrested and Jeanne was branded, whipped and sent to the prostitutes prison  Verdict:

Myth #3- She deserved the title “Madame Deficit”  Myth: Marie Antoinette spent outrageous amounts of money and helped drive the country further into debt.  She was given the Petit Trianon, a small farm in 1774  Rumors circulated that she plastered the walls with gold  Rousseau’s ideas of the natural state of man resonated with her and she thought the Petit Trianon helped her accomplish this.  Later on she had the Hameaude de la reine- a modern hamlet built in the garden of the petit Trianon with a mill and 12 cottages  Also bought the Chateau de Saint-Cloud and intended to leave it for her children- cost 6 million livres- the people were shocked

Verdict:

Myth #4: The Queen had a wild extra-marital sex life  Her marriage to Louis XVI was not great, it took them a long time to consummate their marriage  Suspected she might have had an affair with the handsome Swede, Count Axel von Freson  Satirical pamphlets were published about the king’s impotence and her finding sexual gratification elsewhere  Her close friendships with women led to rumours of lesbianism  Rumours of orgies, and even an affair with her brother in law Comte d’Artois  During her execution trial she was deemed guilty of having orgies and sexually abusing her son.

 Her son was coached into stating that his mother sexually abused him by his guardian  There is no real proof that Marie Antoinette had any affairs, however it is known that her and her husband did not have a close marriage  Verdict: