She grew up in an imperial family and was never lonely. Her childhood was relatively carefree, and she was groomed to live a privileged lifestyle of comfort and elegance. She learned how to play many instruments, and was very good at dancing. Her education, however, was very poor outside of that. She was taught rudimentary skills, but they were no where near the extent that she needed once she became queen. She was, however, being groomed to be a pawn. Her mother saw her children as alliance making machines that could help her own empire. Thus, Marie, because of her beauty, would be married off in order to gain an alliance.
In 1767, a smallpox outbreak happened within Marie's home family. Though her older sister had been promised as a bride for Louis-Auguste, her sister died. Successive deaths in the family from the disease left only Marie as a viable bride for the French Dauphin. Thus, it was set that she would marry him.
In 1770, she met and married the Dauphin. The new Dauphine was popular with the people because of her beauty and personality, but older members of the court disliked and/or distrusted her. This was because Austria and France had been long-standing enemies before the Seven Years' War, and some older members of the court remembered this. Even the Dauphin had been influenced by anti-Austrian sentiments at court and had distrust of his wife.
In 1775, Louis was crowned as Louis XVI and became King of France. Marie, contrary to popular belief, had little influence over her husband because she was Austrian. Thus, the argument that all his decisions were her decisions were false. The marriage between the two wasn't consummated for quite some time because the king had an odd condition, but they managed to have children together: 4 to be exact.
All of the scandals that surrounded the royal family caused Marie to go into a deep depression. Much like some women today, Marie fell into bad habits when she was depressed. This included the buying of many gowns, and that gambling of funds. This, along with costly renovations (she was said to plaster the walls of rooms with gold and diamonds), caused her popularity to decline. Most of the debt that France had accrued both in the Seven Years' War and the American Revolution went unpaid. Marie, however, still managed to find money to buy things.
During the French Revolution, the people tired of Marie and her husband's expensive reign, so they led an armed revolt against the monarchy. After a long battle, the French people won. The monarchy was toppled, and Marie's reputation was in the toilet. The royal family attempted to escape to the royalist stronghold, but they were caught in Varennes. The fact that they cowardly tried to abandon their post and move made their popularity fall further. Louis was executed in January of 1793 for trying to undermine the first French Republic.
Marie was distraught at the death of her husband. She refused to eat or do much of anything, but it was unclear what her fate would be. Some called for her death, but others called for her to be exiled with her children. In the end, a trial was held. While Marie never flinched at the accusations of treason, the orchestration of orgies at Versailles, sending millions of livres to Austria, orchestrating the massacre of the Swiss Guards, or declaring her son the new king of France after her husband's execution. The one time that she did respond was when she was accused of incest with her son. She spoke out harshly against this, and proclaimed innocence. Because her trial was really a sham, most women who had called for the queen's head actually began to support her after this. Her emotional outburst caused the women to rally to her defense (for this accusation).
Marie was found guilty of treason. Below is a picture of her being led to the guillotine. Her plain white dress and badly cut hair are quite different from the elegant image that she carried throughout most of her life. Her final words were, "Pardon me sir, I meant not to do it." (She had accidentally stepped on the executioners foot) This brought an end to a very sad reign.
Marie Antoinette was not a particularly powerful or influential figure in European history. However, her image and character echo through popular culture right down to the present day. Some people blame her for all of France's problems at the time because of her lavish lifestyle. Others feel that she may have been a catalyst to the revolution, but she was not the sole cause of it. This debate is why she is significant. People really don't know much about her, but there is so much literature on her. In the end, she is significant because she was the last queen of France. The fact that she was the last led other monarchies to reform rather than be disposed of (perhaps this is why the English monarchy still exists).
Her Wikipedia Page
A Website Made in her Name
Next Time we Will Discuss
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