Why I Sympathize with Marie Antoinette AKA a Somewhat Short History of The Young Queen Part 1

Marie Antoinette, that name alone stirs up an endless pit of opinions. The most popular being that she was a ruthless, horrible, extravagant, superficial tyrant. Every class on the French Revolution talks about Marie Antoinette like she's a cardboard box, like she's only a dusty, stuffy old portrait.

I want to shed some light on the ill-fated queen's life from a different angle. I personally do not believe that she was horrible or a tyrant. I will try to be as honest and neutral as I can considering that my opinions on this topic are quite strong.

First of all, Marie Antoinette never said "let them eat cake" and it makes me really sad that this is what defines her today. The term "let them eat cake" existed long before Marie Antoinette was queen. The phrase had been pinned on nobility before Marie Antoinette was rumored to have said the famous phrase.

Another misconception is that Marie Antoinette was responsible for the revolution and France's suffering.
Think about this, can one person really spend so much that they make a country broke? No, that is crazy, ridiculous and unrealistic! France was penniless before Marie Antoinette even arrived.

A really important thing to remember when studying any history, especially the French Revolution is that history is always written by the winners, every single court and courtier in the 18th-century spent extravagantly, some even more than Marie Antoinette.

Essentially, Marie Antoinette was an accessible status symbol, a scapegoat, she was only trying to be a good queen and didn't exactly know how to. She was doing the best that she could.

Marie Antoinette left her family in Austria at the tender age of fourteen to become the queen of France. She was married to a stranger and was taken to a new, foreign land. What awaited her were courtiers and townspeople that would scrutinize everything she did and every move that she made. Marie Antoinette could do nothing right. 

In France's defense, the people adored Marie Antoinette when she first arrived, she a fresh new face, she was a symbol of the future. France was in decline, they were broke and struggling to stay a super power. Marie Antoinette was the future. (Talk about a lot of pressure!)

Before Marie Antoinette even reaches Versailles, the young dauphine had to take part in the handover ceremony at the border between Austria and France. The handover ceremony consisted of Marie Antoinette being stripped naked, her Austrian clothes taken away and dressed in French clothing. In addition, Marie Antoinette had to say goodbye to her attendants and her beloved dog Mops. Marie Antoinette cried at the handover ceremony.

Finally, Marie Antoinette reached her new home and was expected to consummate her marriage. Long story short, this never happened for seven years. The young queen's marriage became the punchline of jokes which was embarrassing as well as worrisome. An unconsummated marriage meant that Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette's claim to the throne was in jeopardy.

One of the biggest underlying issues was what an unconsummated marriage truly meant: if Marie Antoinette couldn't produce an heir, who would be the next king of France when her husband was gone?

Essentially, the marriage was a wreck! Louis XVI was awkward and more concerned with hunting and metalwork than his wife. Meanwhile, the revolution was growing and France was in decline.

To keep this post at a reasonable length, I'm going to put this post into parts, this post obviously being part 1!

I really hope you guys enjoyed reading this post, I absolutely loved writing it since I am obsessed with Marie Antoinette and her life. Feel free to share your own opinions on the queen in the comments, I really would love to hear them!
-Abigal