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MARIE ANTOINETTE: - A VICTIM

Sonia

Department of History, University of Delhi

12311503: History of Modern Europe – I

Mrs. Nayana Dasgupta

November 17, 2023

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ABSTRACT
Born as an Austrian princess in 1755 and crowned Queen of France in 1774, Marie-Antoinette perished on the

guillotine in 1793 because she refused to give up the privilege of aristocracy that was her birthright. She lived a

life totally in line with the aristocratic ideals of her day, dedicating herself to the pursuit of pleasure and public

display. The fact that her way of life seemed particularly disagreeable to the revolutionaries had less to do with

the unique immorality of her deeds than it did with the rift that had formed between the moral and political

sensibilities of the Old Regime and the New. Few ladies in history are as well-known for their glitz and

extravagance as Marie Antoinette, the French Queen, who is said to have ignited a revolution with her famous

quote, "Let them eat cake." But like a lot of news stories these days, there's more to this story than meets the eye.

This essay attempts to examine the contentious subject of whether Marie Antoinette was a victim of her

circumstances.

INTRODUCTION

The primary responsibility Marie Antoinette had as Queen of France was to bear a male heir who would

carry on her husband's royal dynasty. She held no formal position or legal political authority. The French

people welcomed Louis XVI with open arms, believing that after 50 years under Louis XV, the young prince

would offer new ideas, much-needed reforms, and a fresh perspective on leading France in a world that

was changing quickly. As the King's economic plans failed and his Queen was unable to bear him an heir,

this goodwill rapidly withered. As she grew more social, going to the opera and dances in the capital,

gambling, and having late-night parties at Versailles, he appeared to lose interest in politics.

During the 1780s, the French government was facing financial difficulties and the country's grain prices

skyrocketed due to bad harvests. This led to popular indignation over Marie Antoinette's extravagant

lifestyle. Queen was renowned for her sophisticated preferences, particularly her love of dramatic, cutting-

edge jewellery, hairstyles, and ensembles. Marie Antoinette was given a wardrobe allowance of one

hundred fifty livres each year, but she was able to spend over three times that amount. Her numerous

writings criticised the opulence, ignorance, and infidelity of her queen. Some called her "Madame Deficit,"

while others included explicit caricatures of her.

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Marie Antoinette's first child, Marie‐Therese Charlotte, was finally born in December 1778, followed by

Louis Joseph in 1781, Louis Charles in 1785 and Sophie Béatrix in 1786.The older she grew, the less

extravagant the queen became, devoting herself to her children, two of whom died in infancy. However,

sympathy for her personal tragedies could not contain her anger at her public persona. Sometime around

1789, when Marie Antoinette learned that her French subjects had no bread, she is said to have snorted:

"Let them eat cake." With this callous remark, the queen became a hated symbol of the decadent

monarchy. There is no evidence that Marie Antoinette ever uttered this famous saying, which has been

attributed to various members of the royal family over the years to illustrate their indifference to the

problems of the common people.

On July 14, 1789, a group of workers and peasants stormed the Bastille prison, signaling the

commencement of the French Revolution. Subsequently, on October 6th, approximately 10,000

people gathered outside the Palace of Versailles, demanding the relocation of the king and queen

to the Tuileries Palace in Paris. Faced with the situation, the typically indecisive Louis XVI appeared

almost paralyzed, prompting Marie Antoinette to assume a more active role. She engaged with

advisers, sent urgent letters to fellow European rulers, imploring them for assistance.

On the night of August 10, 1792, activists compelled the Legislative Assembly to "suspend" the

monarchy, and on September 22nd of the same year, the newly established National Convention

voted to declare France a republic, thereby abolishing the monarchy. Consequently, Louis XVI and

Marie Antoinette ceased to hold the titles of King and Queen. Instead, they became, like many

others, incarcerated citizens suspected of treason. Following her husband's execution by guillotine

in January 1793, Marie Antoinette, left widowed, experienced further distress as her two remaining

children were subsequently taken from her custody. After a brief trial, Marie Antoinette was

convicted of treason in October 1793. On October 16, 1793, at the age of 37, she met her end

through execution by guillotine.

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VICTIMISATION OF QUEEN

Upon her arrival in France at the tender age of fourteen in May 1770, Marie Antoinette was

meticulously presented to the public as a paragon of youthful beauty and virtue. Her marriage to

the dauphin, a strategic move in the Austro-French alliance, was orchestrated by the Austrian and

French governments, making her a pawn in the intricate game of state affairs. Despite the initial

official portrayal, Marie Antoinette swiftly became the target of malicious gossip within the faction-

ridden and hostile court, propagated by scandalmongers operating through unofficial channels.

The seven-year union, characterized by its incompleteness and lack of marital consummation,

became a central factor in the relentless defamation of the queen's character. The clandestine

pamphlet industry, thriving despite government censorship efforts, seized upon the vulnerabilities

of the flawed royal marriage, fueling the dissemination of scandalous material about the queen. In

failing to conform to the expected role of a dominated and impregnated wife, Marie Antoinette

became the subject of animosity comparable to that historically directed at a "royal whore." The

queen's unique position, unlike that of a mistress, rendered her immune to banishment, thereby

undermining the very principle of hereditary monarchy. In addition to the marital challenges,

another often overlooked aspect contributing to Marie Antoinette's victimization was her foreign

origin. Exploiting her Austrian identity, libelous pamphlets accentuated her foreignness, insinuating

that she held disdain for the French. Pamphlets from 1774 even went so far as to attribute her

decision to take lovers to her Austrian background, claiming that she sought pregnancy due to the

king's alleged inadequacy. By the early 1780s, a standardized repertoire of pamphlets attacking the

queen had emerged, portraying her as a foreigner, a profligate spender draining the royal treasury,

a manipulator of the king, and a libertine with limitless sexual excesses. The infamous Diamond

Necklace Affair, despite her innocence, further fueled public animosity towards Marie Antoinette.

As the scandal unfolded, she inexplicably emerged as the villain, while other participants were
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hailed as popular heroes. As the Revolution gained momentum, the pamphlets intensified both in

number and virulence. Marie Antoinette metamorphosed into the embodiment of the female

monster during the Revolutionary era – depicted as depraved, alcoholic, bestial, and sadistic. Public

animosity towards her played a pivotal role in events such as the march of women on Versailles in

the October Days of 1789, a critical episode that, by bringing the king and government to Paris,

marked a significant blow to the monarchy. During the subsequent tumultuous summer, agitation

against the queen reached a fever pitch, fueled by rumors of her alleged financial support to bring

an Austrian army to France. Witnesses during investigations attested to threats against the queen's

life, with some advocating for her imprisonment in a convent and others expressing a desire to

outright murder her, showcasing the depths of public hostility. As the French Revolution

progressed, the declaration of war against the Austrians further intensified the xenophobic rage of

the masses against Marie Antoinette, cementing her status as a foreign scapegoat in the

tumultuous political landscape.

MARIE ANTOINETTE WAS JUST LIKE OTHER WOMEN?

In scrutinizing the perception of Marie Antoinette and her multifaceted representation within

various feminist discourses, a notable dichotomy emerges. While Mary Robinson extols Marie

Antoinette as a poignant symbol of victimized womanhood, Mary Wollstonecraft, as late as 1794,

vehemently denounces the Queen as a reprehensible figure, attributing to her a dual role as both a

sexual deviant and the corrupt head of an oppressive political state. Within the realm of French

feminist responses during the 1790s, a distinctive emphasis on sexual difference surfaces,

superseding considerations of other differentiating factors, notably rank. Paradoxically, those

women aligned with the revolutionary cause found themselves defending Marie Antoinette.

Olympe de Gouges, in her 1791 feminist treatise "Declaration of the Rights of Woman," uniquely
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dedicates her advocacy to Marie Antoinette, invoking the Queen's capacity to prioritize gender

over rank. This paradoxical defense underscores the acknowledgment that even in her elevated

position, Marie Antoinette is fundamentally a woman before an individual with specific interests.

Madame de Staël, in her 1793 defense, "Réflexions sur le procès de la reine," exhibits a feminist

solidarity rooted in the belief that Marie Antoinette faced persecution not solely due to her royal

lineage but fundamentally because she was a woman. Staël contends that the outcome of the trial

holds broader implications for the destiny of women collectively. This defense gains significance as,

following the Queen's execution, de Gouges and Madame de Roland suffered a similar fate, and

the National Convention proscribed women's political clubs, manifesting a post-revolutionary

expulsion of women from public political spheres irrespective of rank.

In contrast, an alternative lens on Marie Antoinette emerges through the lens of French

pornography, which seeks to desecrate royalty by reducing kings and queens to the common

human level. Chantal Thomas's analysis in "The Wicked Queen" delineates this leveling tactic,

portraying Marie Antoinette as indistinguishable from the lowest prostitute due to her purported

indiscriminate sexual encounters. Pornographic representations reduce the Queen to a woman akin

to all others, emphasizing her sexual voracity and positioning her as an entity not of the highest

order. Moreover, the Queen's profanation in pornography involves scenes of cross-class desire,

depicting her as encouraging subjects to treat her as any other woman. The blurring of class

distinctions in sexual contexts reinforces the notion of interchangeability among women. By

adopting a common guise and engaging in anonymous encounters, Marie Antoinette is depicted

as challenging the conventions of rank, ultimately shedding her identity as the Queen to become a

symbol of Woman, embodying the archetypal seductress and whore. This portrayal caters to the

fantasies of heterosexual male desire, invoking the mythic figure of the perpetually willing female

body.
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Mary Robinson's feminist tract and related works dedicated to defending Marie Antoinette, a

discernible shift occurs from regarding the Queen as a woman rising above her sex to a defense

grounded in the commonalities among women. Robinson's textual evolution, exemplified in

"Impartial Reflections on the Present Situation of the Queen of France" and "Monody to the

Memory of the Late Queen of France," reflects this transition. The hyperbolic representation of

Marie Antoinette as Woman facilitates cross-rank identification, emphasizing the overarching

virtue inherent in womanhood that transcends the limitations imposed by social rank. This

argumentation enables Robinson to simultaneously endorse the Revolution as the most glorious

achievement in Europe while portraying Marie Antoinette as a heroine deserving of sympathy. In

contrast, Mary Wollstonecraft's perspective diverges markedly, positioning Marie Antoinette as a

symbol of the detriments associated with femininity. Wollstonecraft decries the Queen as

conniving, licentious, and greedy, attributing to her a perverse sexuality that tarnishes the

reputation of all women. According to Wollstonecraft, Marie Antoinette epitomizes the maladies of

womanhood, compelling the assertion that women must liberate themselves from the constraints

of their gender and adopt more masculine attributes. Wollstonecraft's critique further unfolds in

her historical overview of the French Revolution, where Marie Antoinette is cast as fundamentally

untrustworthy, engaging in deception, and exhibiting a lack of intelligence. The Queen's alleged

wasteful expenditures, financial support to her family in Austria, and substantial influence over the

king are highlighted as evidence of her guilt. Wollstonecraft contends that the root of the problem

lies in Marie Antoinette being educated as the quintessential woman, reinforcing ideals of feminine

beauty and perpetuating subservient roles dependent on men. The manipulation of Marie

Antoinette's image extends beyond her personal comportment to symbolize a representation of an

overly powerful and politically engaged woman. Staël, concerned about the potential compromise
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to women's future in the Revolution, underscores the charges against Marie Antoinette, such as

promiscuity, incest, and plots against the heir to the throne, as manifestations of a fundamental

anxiety about queenship challenging traditional gender boundaries in the public sphere. The

multifaceted representations of Marie Antoinette within feminist discourses illuminate a complex

interplay between gender, rank, and societal expectations. Whether viewed through the lenses of

feminist advocacy, pornography, or critical analysis, Marie Antoinette emerges as a symbolic figure

whose identity is manipulated to reflect broader anxieties and societal tensions surrounding

femininity, power, and political upheaval during the French Revolution.

FASHION ICON OR VICTIM?

The transformation of Marie Antoinette's public image, as observed in various revisionist accounts,

is marked by a shift from a perceived heartless, elitist, and anti-revolutionary figure to that of a

sympathetic and unfairly maligned victim. This metamorphosis is attributed, in part, to her

successful transition from a literal teenage queen to a mature and elegant wife and mother. The

2006 PBS documentary "Marie Antoinette and the French Revolution" underscores her as a

"tender-hearted, complex woman" whose tragic fate unfolded too late to spare her from the

guillotine. The surprising popularity of this revised narrative is theorized by historians to stem from

what is described as "historical illiteracy" among the general populace, suggesting a limited

understanding of Marie Antoinette's historical context. Cultural critics, on the other hand, posit that

the broader population, as consumers, identifies with her plight, echoing sentiments akin to being

a collective nation of Marie Antoinettes. In her biography, Fraser provides a nuanced defense of

Marie Antoinette against allegations of disdain for the masses and lascivious behaviour,

acknowledging, however, the opulent lifestyle she led at the court of Versailles. Weber, in "Queen

of Fashion," extends Fraser's argument, contending that Marie Antoinette's fashion choices served
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as a form of resistance against oppressive cultural norms and political animosities during her

tenure in France. The ceremonial changes in Marie Antoinette's attire, particularly during her

transition from a child of Austria to the Dauphine of France, are highlighted as indicative of her

victimhood. Weber emphasizes the young queen's submission to foreign standards, as manifested

in dress, during the official "handover" from the Austrian to the French court. Even moments

traditionally viewed as victories, such as her wedding ceremony, are reframed as scenes of

victimization, with her clothing playing a significant role in betraying her vulnerabilities.

SARTORIAL AND SEXUAL EXCESS

Despite her eventual mastery of fashion as a tool of influence, Marie Antoinette continued to face

suspicion and criticism, especially regarding her penchant for luxury and fashion. This paradoxically

increased both her popularity and the envy and mistrust she encountered. The press and

pamphlets of the time fused sartorial excess with allegations of sexual deviance, perpetuating

vicious rumors about the queen. Weber notes that matters of costume were as closely monitored

as royal sex at Versailles, reflecting the intrusive nature of court expectations on Marie Antoinette's

body. The infamous Diamond Necklace Affair, along with references to the frivolous phrase "Let

them eat cake," further solidified public resentment against Marie Antoinette, despite historical

agreement on the unfairness of these accusations. Coppola's film, while defending the queen's

lavish consumption, cleverly integrates these elements into its narrative, depicting them as tabloid-

like fodder circulated by anti-royalist rumourmongers. While rumors regarding Marie Antoinette's

alleged romantic liaisons abound, the nature and degree of her relationship with Count Fersen

remain ambiguous. Historians acknowledge the impossibility of definitively determining the

intimacy between the queen and Count Fersen, with various accounts, such as Naslund's novel and

Coppola's film, presenting different perspectives on the matter. The revisionist narratives

collectively shed light on the complex and multifaceted persona of Marie Antoinette, emphasizing
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her evolution from a vilified figure to a nuanced victim of circumstance. The intertwining of

fashion, politics, and personal life in these accounts provides a comprehensive understanding of

the challenges faced by Marie Antoinette during a tumultuous period in French history.

CONCLUSION

After seven years of matrimony, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette achieved the consummation of

their marriage, resulting in the birth of offspring, including a potential heir. Contrary to revisionist

narratives, Marie Antoinette wholeheartedly embraced the maternal role. She relinquished late-

night social engagements, extravagant parties, attendance at operas, gambling, and public court

life. Instead, she chose to devote her time to the Petit Trianon, a private palace at Versailles, and

Saint Cloud, her country estate, surrounded by close friends and family. Analogous to

contemporary film stars, she proclaimed motherhood and family as her foremost priorities,

successfully conveying this sentiment to both herself and her admirers. While her earlier change in

wardrobe symbolized the transition from a young girl to a teenage queen and from a fashion

follower to an icon, her shift to the role of a devoted mother was evidenced in a new stylistic

approach. However, by this juncture, the damage to Marie Antoinette's image had already been

inflicted. Her extravagant spending habits were widely recognized, and critics scorned her attempts

to adopt a simpler lifestyle, denouncing her modest attire as morally corrupt. Scholars, such as

Weber, note that the less structured chemises she wore were presumed to allow easier access to

breasts and genitals. Contemporary propaganda portrayed Marie Antoinette as a woman,

foreigner, prostitute, adulteress, and coquette. Her trial and subsequent execution in August 1793

marked the closing chapter for women's formal participation in politics during the Revolution. The

monstrous depiction of Marie Antoinette in revolutionary press bore little resemblance to the real

woman. Instead, an imaginary queen of crime was constructed, serving as the perfect target for
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radical media and a scapegoat in the morality play that unfolded during the Revolution. Despite

the growing democratic and egalitarian tendencies in late eighteenth-century political culture, an

undercurrent of xenophobia and misogyny prevailed, leaving Marie Antoinette, as an aristocrat,

foreigner, and female, vulnerable on all fronts.

REFERENCES:

1. Binhammer, Katherine; Marie Antoinette was 'One of Us': British Accounts of the Martyred Wicked

Queen, published by: University of Pennsylvania Press.

2. Marso, J. Lori; Defending the Queen: Wollstonecraft and Staël on the Politics of Sensibility and

Feminine Difference, [The Eighteenth Century, SPRING 2002, Vol. 43, No. 1 (SPRING 2002)], pp. 43-

60, Published by: University of Pennsylvania Press

3. Young, Mallory and Ferriss, Suzanne; Marie Antoinette": Fashion, Third-Wave Feminism, and Chick

Culture, [Literature/Film Quarterly, 2010, Vol. 38, No. 2 (2010), pp. 98-116], Published by: Salisbury

University

4. Zevin, Alexander, Marie Antoinette and the Ghosts of the French Revolution, [Cinéaste, SPRING

2007, Vol. 32, No. 2 (SPRING 2007), pp. 32-35], Published by: Cineaste Publishers, Inc.

5. Barker, Nancy N; "Let Them Eat Cake": The Mythical Marie Antoinette and the French Revolution,

[The Historian, SUMMER 1993, Vol. 55, No. 4 (SUMMER 1993), pp. 709-724], Published by: Taylor &

Francis, Ltd.

6. Colwill, Elizabeth; Just Another "Citoyenne?" Marie-Antoinette on Trial, 1790-1793, [History

Workshop, Autumn, 1989, No. 28 (Autumn, 1989), pp. 63-87], Published by: Oxford University

Press.

7. Benton, Rita; Jean-Frederic Edelmann, a Musical Victim of the French Revolution, [The Musical

Quarterly, Apr., 1964, Vol. 50, No. 2 (Apr., 1964), pp. 165-187], Published by: Oxford University

Press.

8. https://www.thecollector.com/marie-antoinette-death/
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