Marie Antoinette Research Paper

She was born princess of Austria, Maria Antonia Josepha Joanna to her mother, Maria Theresa, empress of Austria, and father, Holy Roman Emperor Francis I, both head of the Hapsburg dynasty. In 1770 at the young age of 15, she married a French prince who would soon come to be King Louis XVI of France, in order to help build a stronger alliance between Austria and France, making her the Queen of France in 1774 as a teenager.

Marie Antoinette was born on November 2, 1755 at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria, and in a rich

While many people may be familiar with the story of the French Revolution and history of Marie Antoinette, they may not fully comprehend the lively debate that continues to exist around Marie Antoinette. A debate over how Marie Antoinette should be remembered exists, with some arguing that Antoinette was spoiled and careless and others taking the stance that Antoinette was a victim of her harsh circumstances. Before delving into this controversy, background knowledge of Marie Antoinette’s life can assist in understanding the controversy. In 1770 at the age of fourteen, Marie Antoinette, daughter of Austrian empress Maria Theresa, was married to Louis XVI of France to strengthen French and Austrian relations. In 1774, Louis XVI became king and Marie Antoinette became queen. Dissatisfaction toward Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette and economic turmoil led the French Revolution to begin in 1789, with Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette eventually being guillotined in 1793 (Covington 56-65).

It can be easily said that the intended audience for this letter was to Marie Antoinette’s mother, Maria Theresa the empress of Austria. Marie states several times throughout the letter of her many thanks to her mother for the reciprocating letters. The excitement in Marie’s tone is evident that she is astonished, despite the chaotic excitement upon their arrival, the amount of order there is. Marie is overjoyed that despite the hardships that the peasants faced, such as taxes, they remain loyal to her and her husband Louis, and show their affection with cheering and excitement. In response to the love that they received, Marie makes a point to tell her mother that the dauphin and herself wished the citizens not to be harmed despite the fact that they were unable to move for hours from the sheer masses of people who gathered upon their arrival.

Many people may argue that Marie Antoinette was the biggest factor for why France fell into a revolutionary state, however, Marie Antoinette was a queen victimized and forced to play role from a young age to satisfy the French people who disapproved. Marie Antoinette was falsely blamed for her actions when in fact it wasn’t her fault. Marie Antoinette was forced to accept a society where she had to learn new customs and traditions. She had to leave everything behind, consequently become something she isn’t. Her frustration and unhappiness with Versailles was no surprise. Marie Antoinette was frustrated by her marriage. At Versailles her husband-to-be, Louis Auguste had no interest in her. In the film, Marie Antoinette, the director clearly

At the age of 14 years old Marie Antoinette was sent to France to marry the 15 year old Dauphin, Louis Auguste. She got married on May 16, 1770 in a royal chapel at the palace of Versailles. It took almost 7 years before Marie and her husband ever thought about having kids. She had her first child at about the age 22. Marie and her husband lived in a beautiful palace in Versailles. Marie had a total of 4 children. The children's names were Louis XVII of France, Louis Joseph, Dauphin of France, Marie Thérèse of France, and Sophie Hélène Beatrix of France. 2 of her children died at a young age. Her first son died on June 4th 1789. Her other child died on July 14. Marie said after her children died ¨No one understands my ills nor the terror that fills my breast who does not know the heart of a mother¨.

This source is also valuable because its purpose is to analyze Marie Antoinette’s contribution to the French Revolution. It looks at her social life—including her expenses—and also her husband’s actions that affected her reputation as the careless and apathetic Queen.

As queen of France, Marie Antoinette was a symbol of what the common French peasant hated of the aristocracy. She often had a cold disinterest in the common people, however being warm and outgoing to fellow noble aristocrats. Generally liked at first, she turned into the very thing commoners hated of the aristocracy. Through her years, her actions as queen, what she did during times of unrest and turmoil in France, and simply how the people viewed her attributed to her becoming of a villain to the peasants.

On August 4, 1944, Anne Frank and the other seven inhabitants living in the annex were arrested by the German Gestapo. Their secret about living in the annex was exposed by an anonymous tip, that led to their arresting. The anonymous tip also led the Gestapo to arrest two office workers that were helping the members of the annex live. The two office workers were sent to Amersfoort Camp, which was located in the Netherlands. Fortunately, one of the office helpers was released after the arrest. The other helper escaped after 6 months of being confined in the camp. As for the members of the annex, they were all transported to Camp Westerbork, located in Northeastern Netherlands. The members of the annex arrived to the camp four days after the arresting, on August 8, 1944.

In June of 1791, the French revolution witnessed one of its most dramatic events. King Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, the Austrian born queen, escaped there parisian palace, the Tuileries. They fled Paris on the night of June 20th, dressed in rather inadequate disguises heading towards France’s eastern border. Prior to the escape, Louis had entailed a telling declaration in which he essentially renounced the constitutional monarchy, contradictory to previously expressing his support. However plan turned into a blunder. It was poorly compromised even before it began resulting in unavoidable like demise. The Kings flight came to a halt in Varennes where the royal family had their papers inspected after suspicion arose from some locals. Louis gave up the disguise to Jacques Destez, before the royal family was coercively returned to Paris. This dramatic occurrence resulted in a series of events that began to unfold and had a huge influence on the play out of the revolution.

Madame Elisabeth was born May 3, 1764 and died May 10,1794. Madame Elisabeth was born to Louis Dauphin and Maria Josepha. Madame was a French princess and the youngest sister of King Louis XVI. At the age of three she was orphaned, but she received an excellent education and revealed considerable talents in math and science. Madame Elisabeth also had considerable talents in drawing, embroidery, and a tuneless singer. From a very young age she showed to have an ambiguous personality combined with great devotion with a pacific eccentricity and dissipation. As she got older she developed a very strong bond with her older brother King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette to which she remained loyal to throughout her life, refusing notably to

Antoinette was materialistic and financially irresponsible whilst positioned as the Queen of France. Marie Antoinette was

The Princesse de Lamballe (a close friend of Marie Antoinette), fled revolutionary France to rally foreign support for the monarchy. Despite being in the safety of the English court and knowing the dangers that awaited, she returned to France out of a deep sense of loyalty for her friend and queen. Before returning, she made sure to write out her last will and testament, knowing that in the midst of the revolution she would be presented with no other opportunity to do so.

The story of revolution and resistance in 18th-century France is a complicated one, and no two historians tell the story the same way. However, it is clear that for the revolutionaries, Marie Antoinette’s significance was mainly, powerfully symbolic. "She and the people around her seemed to represent everything that was wrong with the monarchy and the Second Estate: They appeared to be tone-deaf, out of touch, disloyal (along with her allegedly treasonous behavior, writers and pamphleteers frequently accused the queen of adultery) and self-interested"( Moore 17 ). What Marie Antoinette was actually like was beside the point; the image of the queen was far more influential than the woman herself.

Before Marie Antoinette married Dauphin Louis XVI in 1770, the situation in France was already beginning to become disordered. The peasants, which made up about 90% of the population at the time, were treated unfairly and began to feel frustrated and upset with the Monarchy. At the time, Marie Antoinette was distrusted because of her foreign birth and many of the peasants saw her as the source of their problems and disliked her. She was often seen in the past as a bad Queen due to her careless spending and seemingly frivolous lifestyle, now with more evidence and sources, opinions have shifted. Many see Marie Antoinette as a victim of her own circumstances, as it can be seen by the state of affairs in France before her arrival, her upbringing and public opinion before her death during the French Revolution. This essay will illustrate that Marie Antoinette was indeed a victim of her circumstances.