16 October 1793
Marie-Antoinette, in full Marie Antoinette-Josèphe-Jeanne d’Autriche-Lorraine (Austria-Lorraine), originally German Maria Antonia Josepha Joanna von Österreich-Lothringen, was sent to the guillotines. Her last words were: “I did not do it on purpose”, after she stepped on the foot of her executioner.
Present
The French at the time of the French revolution and many people today still view Marie Antoinette as “Madame Defecit”. Many believe her apathy and frivolous and lavish spendings regardless of France’s financial system led to the downfall of the French empire. We also know her as the infamous speaker of the quote “let them eat cake”
Truth or bias?
However, Marie Antoinette was not the villain history framed her to be. The vast ocean of history is often disrupted, and while no source relating to history is perfect, some are more biased than others. For example, the much quoted phrase “Let them eat Cake” is often credited to Marie Antoinette. Many condemn her based on this sentence. However, this phrase was never uttered by her. According to Britannica, this quote had been circulating in other parts of the world, with varying details. The first person whom published this exact phrase was the French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, in book VI of “Confessions” (1767). However, according to Wikipedia, not only was Marie-Antoinette only 14 at that time, she was also living outside of France. And besides that, according to Britannica, the earliest known source connecting the quote with Marie Antoinette was more than 50 years after the revolution. (Here is the source)
The “Villain” Backstory
Marie Antoinette was married to Louis XVI as an inter-country alliance. Due to already-existing hostilities, when the 15 year old Austrian princess arrived in the French court, Marie Antoinette became the subject of slanders and ridicules, even being put into pornographic pamphlets. These ridicules ranged from her difficult relationship with her husband, as well as other stories such as the “Affair of the Diamond Necklace” (Oversimplified history, the French Revolution)
Perhaps, Marie Antoinette was not a cruel individual, but rather a foreigner that found it difficult to adapt to French customs. Her husband’s personal weakness and political ineptness was what eventually led Marie Antoinette to play a more prominent political role. At this case, she may have opposed reforms and revolutions, however it does not seem to have been done with malice or intentionally.
Was she really selfish?
Other sources may characterize her as frivolous and a large spender, even when france was in financial crisis. This is true, however her lavish spendings were not the whole reason why france was led to financial downfall. One could quote Louis’ large fundings towards the American Revolution among all.
Who was she?
I would also like to present an alternate view on Marie Antoinette. Her brother, Emperor Joseph 11, described her as “honest and lovable”, and according to mental floss dot com, Marie Antoinette had founded a home for unwed mothers, visited and gave food to poor families, and during the 1787 famine, sold off royal flatware to buy grain for those in need. Besides that, she also adopted several children, and these included the child of a maid who had died, and three children of a deceased usherer. In her last letters, her thoughts only went to her children, writing to her sister that it grieved her to leave her children.
Not a winner in the end
As with her husband, Louis Capet, Marie Antoinette was sentenced to jail and later the guillotine. Her children were also imprisoned, and according to “history.com”, her 8 year old child was forced to testify that his mother molested him. She died on 16 October 1793.
Hero or villain?
To me, Marie Antoinette was no villain. A villain could be most typically characterized as an individual whom actively works to provoke, hurt, and oppress citizens, mostly those of little power; however Marie Antoinette did none of these, and in fact, many allegations made against her were French propaganda and misled claims.
Therefore, it is quite clear that Marie Antoinette was not a villain, however she was also like a hero. Although like a hero she cared for her children and orphans whom were being oppressed, in the end she was unable to put these worries of hers into action. Her last days ended with a whimper, rather than a bang, not able to do anything to save her son.
In the end, her death was not something to cheer for, like the Parisian crowd did so many years ago. Marie Antoinette, and to much extent her husband, were two immature, inexperienced teenagers thrust into the two big shoes of their predecessors (which is kind of the whole issue with primogeniture); and sadly, this would not be the last time a couple met such a cruel fate, as seen from the last of the Romanovs. (I think it’s been said that empress Alexandra Romanov found Marie Antoinette to be a parallel of herself, both young princesses in a foreign court that despised them, with husbands that were not fit for the throne. She also predicted she would die a violent death like Marie Antoinette, and guess what happened. ) (INTERESTING BLOG tying parallels between Marie Antoinette and Alexandra Romanov, as well as more background information on Marie Antoinette. However, there doesn’t seem to be a citation page, so tried to refrain from using any information raised)
Therefore, I would call Marie Antoinette a human, a human who made mistakes but still cared for those that she loved, rather than a Villain or a Hero.