Was Marie Antoinette a Cause of the French Revolution or Just a Victim?

While the arguments are generally in stasis that Marie Antoinette was not the sole cause of the French Revolution, the legacy of Marie Antoinette continues to be a point of disagreement. This debate does not directly influence the history of the French Revolution, but it does affect the overall understanding of Marie Antoinette and her actions throughout her queenship. The first side of the argument presents Marie Antoinette more negatively, blaming her for her unconcerned attitude. David Grubin supports this viewpoint, establishing Antoinette’s failings as a queen by explaining her indifference towards her subjects and the wealth that made her ignorant toward the needy. Grubin

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

Marie Antoinette was born November 2, 1755, in Vienna, Austria. Marie Antoinette lived a relatively easy carefree life. She had the typical education of a woman born in the 18th century. She mostly learned about religious and moral principles, while her brothers learned more academically. In 1765, Louis XV's eldest son died leaving his 11-year-old grandson heir to the throne. Within the next few months Marie Antoinette and Louis-Auguste where set to marry.

Marie Antoinette was born November 02, 1755. She was born in Vienna, Austria. She had pale skin and beautiful blue eyes. She had blond, thick hair. Her parents names were Francis Stephen and Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. She had 15 brothers and sisters, she was the youngest. She married Louis XVI also known as Louis the 16th.

Without the reign of Marie Antoinette the French Revolution might not have been possible. By ushering in the difference in the social classes the people might have not have been daring enough to rebel. Although Marie had a damper on her reputation, she still was one of the most well known queens in

Marie Antoinette was born on November 2, 1755 in Vienna, Austria as the fifthteenth child of the Holy Roman Emperor Francis. Marie Antoinette was torn from the life that she had known for 13 years to live with her soon to be husband, Louis XVI. She did not really have a chance to grow up as a child. From the moment that she was old enough to walk she was taught how to act, dress, and talk. Her sister Josepha died when she was seventeen of cowpox or more commonly referred to as blackpox. She did not have a funeral and her body and belongings were burned so none of the villagers found out and sent an outbreak of panic throughout the city.

The French Revolution started in 1789 when workers and peasants struck the Bastille prison to take guns and ammunition, then circled the Palace of Versailles to demand the royals be brought to Paris. Once at the Palace of Versailles, Louis was so paralyzed with fear that Marie took charge meeting with advisers and ambassadors sending letters to European rulers begging to help them. With the help of Axel von Fersen, Marie plotted to escape to Austria where her brother, the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II, was waiting with an army to fend off pursuing Frenchmen but they never made it. The royals were escorted back to Paris and the French declared war on Austria where they were defeated; the blame going to their Austrian-born queen. The National Assembly abolished the monarchy a few months later and the king and queen were put in prison. Louis XVI was tried for treason and executed; a few months later Marie Antoinette was put on trial, lost custody of her son, and was sent to the guillotine at 37 years

Our ex-queen, Marie Antoinette, lived a life of luxury. She had everything she wanted and did things she liked. However, there were also problems that occurred during her life at Versailles Palace. Firstly, Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI could not have children! They were eventually successful; however, Louis was scared and they did not know what to do to have children.

In the 17th century, France faced great turmoil, which lead to the French Revolution. The country experienced significant distrust, as scandals revolving around King Louis and Marie- Antoinette surfaced. Furthermore, the privileges granted to the first and second estates allowed them to bypass taxation assisting in the economic depreciation. Moreover, complications due to the lack of social mobility hugely contributed to the antagonism of the higher classes. King Louis was thought to be a weak ruler, made clear by his inability to discipline his naive wife, Marie-Antoinette. She was often subjected to crude ridicule and scorn, further dehumanizing nobility. Her irrational spending and ignorance also demonstrated the privilege of the first

Marie Antoinette moved to France, leaving behind a blissful childhood and entered an unhappy marriage. Her husband, Louis 16th, was described as timid and quiet. Marie was described as loud, graceful, and charismatic, all things that scared Louis 16th. She scared him so that he did not consummate the marriage for seven years. This, according to experts, turned Marie to the rich, glamorous life of the French court. The French court was, at the time, described as a fairy tale. Marie had always loved music and excelled in dance and here, she shows it. She both hosted and attended hundreds of balls. She spent lavishly on dresses and such finery and soon became the trend setter for France and many women spend as much if not more trying to keep up with her. Marie made a few friends with whom she spent a lot of time and money with. They spend as much as they desired without thinking of the consequences and often were told to remember their budget. They, of course, spent no more than anyone else in their position and that, experts believe, is why they were not shot down to begin with. It was to be expected to “keep up with the Jones”. The peasants grew weary as they watched their beloved queen spend needlessly as they suffered. France was already in debt and her spending more could only hurt their position.

Marie Antoinette, written and directed by Sofia Coppola and starring Kirsten Dunst, is a 2006 historical drama film that is based on the lifetime of Queen Marie Antoinette in the times leading up to the French Revolution. The plot of the movie starts when she is sent off by her mother to wed the Dauphin of France to keep the relationship of the Countries of France and Austria in good terms. While Dauphine of France, she finds her position to be quite dull and boring. From the perspective of other elites within the monarch, she’s seen as an outsider and can’t seem to get her husband to help procreate an heir to the throne. After four years as Dauphine of France, King Louis the XV passes away and his son, Louis the XVI, ascends to the throne

One of the foolish decisions that he made was to support the American Revolution. France recently suffered a defeat to the British in the Seven Years’ War, so they “declared war on Britain as an official American ally” (King Louis XVI receives U.S. representatives). Although it seemed favorable for King Louis XVI to support the American’s effort for independence, it only aggravated France’s problems by increasing their debt. To make things worse, Louis’s wife, Marie Antoinette, had a negative influence on his decision making, but also spent France’s money on extravagance when she “danced all night at masked balls and cheered wildly at the horse races… gathered around herself a clique of young nobles who gambled away millions at cards” (Plain 22). The antipathy the lower classes had for the nobility only increased, since they believed the tax money should have been used to solve the crisis that afflicted France. Nevertheless, the main problem that troubled France was the large amount of debt, so they had to find a way to resolve this issue before the situation escalated and grew

Seven years before the start of the nineteenth century, Marie Antoinette’s life ends at the guillotine; however, she leaves a legacy behind her. This legacy is not one she would have preferred to linger, being that the common understanding of Marie Antoinette in present-day is related to her supposed promiscuity and frivolity. Powdered wigs and cake aside, the former is the more interesting of the two accusations because it reflects the Enlightenment era’s anxiety over refined sexuality and defined gender roles. Because Marie Antoinette was a female in power, she became the effigy for these anxieties and had many attacks on her sexuality including pornographic pamphlets that documented her alleged heresy.1 This anxiety

It is evident that she made mistakes in her younger years. Yet not all of the criticisms of the queen were warranted, or even true. And in some ways, Antoinette is still misunderstood. She was a woman simply born in the wrong place at the wrong time and a “Scapegoat of the Ancient Regime when her faults were minor in comparison to the punishments inflicted on her.”, as is mentioned by Fraser in Marie Antoinette: The Journey (Fraser, 14). Teaching Antoinette as a symbol of the ignorant, noble class before the French revolution is wrong. Her current image in European history should be reevaluated based on actual fact and without any

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.