Marie Antoinette

Marie Antoinette Extra Credit

Marie Antoinette was the 15th out of 16 children born to Empress Maria Teresa of the Hapsburg Court in Vienna, Austria. She was a very affectionate child, but was often ignored because she was though of as uninteresting. Although she could play the harpsichord well, she hated reading, history, and geography, and her tutor said that she was smarter than she appeared, but just couldn't concentrate. When she turned 14, Marie Antoinette was married off to Prince Louis XVI to make an alliance with the French. Prince Louis was 15 and was petrified of girls and anything sexual. This was a problem because the marriage bed was very public and they needed to procreate in order to guarantee political stability. The royal family resided at Versailles and led a very public life, as was custom in France.

On June 11, 1775, Louis XVI was crowned king, and Marie indulged in pleasures such as going to operas, theaters, masked balls, gambled, and bought dresses, while the king engaged in hunting. When Marie's brother Josef came to visit, Louis confided in him about his sexual problems, but on August 30, 1777, France celebrated the birth of the couple's first child, Maria Teresa Charlotte. She later gave birth to two boys and another girl, and after the death of her mother, devoted her time to taking care of her children. She retreated from the life at the palace and turned to her summer villa, Le Petit Trianon, for comfort. She toned down her extravagant style and learned to enjoy nature. During this time, she was rumored to be in love with Axel Fersen, the emissary of Sweden, and was accused of not playing her role as the queen.

The late 1700's in France was marked by high taxes, landless peasants, and money going to the American Revolution, and the queen was blamed for the country's problems. While her country was having problems, she remained blindly aloof and was known as Madame Deficit. Her reputation was becoming so bad that pamphlets about her sex life and politics were made. She was also involved in a scandal involving a diamond necklace that she refused to buy. The cardinal, hoping to win the queen's favor, paid two million livres to a prostitute dressed like Marie Antoinette. The necklace was stolen and the queen's reputation worsened.

In 1789, the French Revolution broke out and when the couple's eldest son died, King Louis was so depressed that Marie had to be strong and act like the king. Angry mobs stormed through Paris and took the Bastille, and a mob of women marched to Versailles and stabbed Marie's boudoir, an offense as serious as rape. Shortly after, the royal family was forced