Joyeux Anniversaire Marie Antoinette

Kristen Dundst as Marie Antoinette

On this day in 1755, Marie Antoinette was born in Austria. History has written her as "Madame Deficit", or accusing her of telling her French subjects to "eat cake" when the cost of flour skyrocketed and there was no bread for them to eat. (Just a side note, she never said that.) Despite her penchant for spending money, she was actually a gentle soul who certainly did not deserve the death she went to at the machinations of the guillotine. 

Her marriage to Louis Auguste wasn't the happiest of marriages; they did not consummate the marriage for seven years. Not that she didn't try, but he never tried to. Her mother was insisting on her trying harder to "inspire" her husband, but it was to no avail. People were blaming her, as she was the foreigner in their country. They would never believe that it was due to Louis' insecurities. Yes, we all know she had an affair with Count Axel Fersen of Sweden, but honestly can you blame her? Her husband was more interested in his locks and such while she was a beautiful young woman who wanted the attention of her husband. I don't blame her in seeking comfort elsewhere.

Marie Antoinette's casual portrait. Her subjects believed this was too informal for their Queen.

When the country was starting to dive into revolution, they believed it was her fault. They didn't realize that most of their money was going to help us Americans gain our independence from England. (Sorry King George, but we really didn't want you telling us what to do considering you kicked most of our ancestors out for their religious beliefs.) Don't get me wrong, I appreciate their help, whatever it was. (I don't remember reading anything about the French helping us in the war until I started to read about Marie.) The French people believed she was out buying clothes, diamonds (google the Diamond Necklace Affair), among many other things. Perhaps she came off as a snob to those who did not know her, but we have to remember that she was an Archduchess in Austria, and in France she was a dauphine and a Queen. She grew up with airs and graces as fitting to her station. Those who knew her and loved her did not see that side of her. 

Diamond Necklace originally made for Madame Du Barry, the mistress of Louis XIV. When she did not purchase it, Marie Antoinette was accused of buying it even though she did not.

We can speculate all we want about the changes she could've made to save her life, but I believe the revolutionaries would've found any reason to kill her. They saw her in her vast palace of Versailles, wearing diamonds, expensive clothes, and eating food when they were starving and dying in the streets. She did not have the power of Elizabeth I or Victoria, nor did she have the political acumen to tell her husband to fix his country first before spending money they didn't have on a war just to piss England off. As powerful as her mother was, I don't think she taught Marie to properly rule a country, especially as a foreigner. They assumed she would just try and push Austria's interests, which her mother did try and get her to do. Luckily her mother passed before her daughter's demise, along with her brother that co-ruled with his mother. 

Marie tried to get help from her family in Austria, which was one of the main charges laid against her. Her ancestor Mary Queen of Scots tried the same thing, (although it was to all the Catholic supporters abroad) when she was imprisoned, but she was also plotting to get rid of Elizabeth I and claim England for herself. Perhaps it wasn't the brightest idea, but we have to remember that they were trying to save themselves (Marie was trying to protect her children as well). I understand the treasonous accusations, however if they did not charge her with seeking foreign assistance, I'm sure other charges would be brought up to execute her. It has been said that she was extremely ill at the time of her execution, uterine or ovarian cancer was believed to be the cause. I'm sure she felt that it was a faster way to die rather than have her body betray her for who knows how long before it finally gave out. 

In happier times with her two of her three children.

Marie joins the ranks of women who were executed in history that we now feel compassion for. (Ok most of us do, there are some out there I'm sure who believe she deserved what she got. I am not one of those.) Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard, Lady Jane Grey, Mary Queen of Scots, just to name a few that history accused of behaving badly. Marie is in the ranks of those women who now fascinate us and that we try to redeem in the eyes of modern history. I would like to think that if her mother had any foresight, she may not have sent her daughter to the country that would end up executing her. Had she been able to just live at Petite Trianon in obscurity with her children and her little farm, I think she would've been happy.
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If you want to learn more, I suggest reading Antonia Fraser's Marie Antoinette - The Journey. There is quite a lot of detail on her life, along with photographs of her belongings that were not stolen by the peasants during their raid of Versailles. Another good book I would recommend is Sex With Queens by Eleanor Herman. Along with Marie Antoinette, she discusses the affairs Queens have had throughout the centuries.