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Compare The Differences Of Louis XVI And Marie Antoinette

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In the late 1700’s, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, two of the most unliked rulers of Paris had somewhat important role during the French Revolution. King Louis was not prepared for the task and his wife Marie Antoinette was not much help.

Louis XVI, last king of france before the French Revolution, was not loved nor adored during his kingdom. He was born on August 23, 1754, in the Palace of Versailles, Paris, France. He was named Louis Auguste de France. Louis was the third son of Louis, Dauphin of France and grandson of Louis XV of France. His mother, Marie-Josepha of Saxony. Louis grew up strong and healthy, but he was very shy. He was tutored by French noblemen and studied religion, morality, and humanities. He was very good at in Latin, …show more content…

Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were extremely different. He was introverted, shy and indecisive, while she was vivacious, outgoing and bold, a social girl who loved gambling, partying and extravagant fashions. At the time that the king went to bed before midnight, the parties and gambling nights for Marie Antoinette had just started. At the time she woke up just before noon, he had already been at work for hours. During the first few years of marriage, Louis and Marie were cordial but distant. His shyness kept him distant from her and his fear of her manipulation made him cold to her in public. When word spread and reached Empress Maria Theresa in 1777, Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI had not yet practiced their marriage, Maria Theresa immediately send her son, Joseph II, to France to act like a marriage counselor. Apparently his wise words helped. A year later, Marie Antoinette gave birth to a daughter, Marie-Thérèse. Eventually, the couple had four children: Marie-Thérèse, Louis-Joseph, Louis-Charles and …show more content…

At the age of 20, Louis XVI was immature and required self-confidence. He desired to be a good king, but he faced colossal debt and rising resentment towards an absolute monarchy. His failure to victoriously address serious financial problems would pursue him for most of his reign. Louis lacked enough strength of character and decisiveness to fight the influence of court or give support to advocates in their attempt to improve France's government. But, Marie Antoinette was not much of help for Louis. In the 1780, Marie Antoinette began spending more time at her private castle, the Petit Trianon, which was on the Palace of Versailles and obviously almost always without Louis. Also she was wasting money on gowns and gambling. Around this time the first rumors appear about her relationship with Swedish diplomat Count Axel von Fersen. During the 1780s, with the French government falling into financial problems and poor intake of grain prices across the country, the extravagant lifestyle of Marie Antoinette rapidly became the topic of popular annoyance. Endless pamphlets accused the queen of ignorance, extravagance and adultery, some with indecent cartoons and others calling her "Madame

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