Leslie Massey
Marie Antoinette, born in Vienna, Austria, in 1755, was married to the future French king, Louis XVI, at just 15 years old. Marie Antoinette's Austrian heritage was a source of tension with the French people, who had a longstanding Austrophobia. Austria was viewed as a dangerous, fraudulent, and cruel imperial power, and fears of Austrian expansionism were heightened by treaties that disproportionately benefited Austrian interests, such as the 1756 Franco-Austrian Alliance. As a result, Marie Antoinette became a symbol of Austrian conspiracy and the Old Regime, and her influence on Revolutionary politics was undeniable. She was accused of treason, adultery, and of being an Austrian whore, a barbarous Queen, and a tigress of Austria. These attacks were often intensely sexualised and pornographic, seeking to undermine the Queen's legitimacy and brand her as an illicit sinner. Ultimately, Marie Antoinette was executed in 1793 during the French Revolution, reflecting the intense hostility towards the monarchy at the time.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Reason for the name | Marie Antoinette was an Austrian princess who married the future French king Louis XVI at the age of 15. |
| Her Austrian heritage did not sit well with the French people due to their longstanding Austrophobia. | |
| Austria was considered dangerously imperialist, fraudulent, and cruel, and the French feared Austrian expansionism. | |
| Marie Antoinette was viewed as a symbol of Austrian conspiracy and the Old Regime. | |
| Her influence on politics was seen as benefitting Austria, and she was accused of having a harmful impact on the French Revolution. | |
| Other names | 'Barbarous Queen', 'Adulterous spouse', and 'Tigress of Austria' |
| Misogyny | Marie Antoinette was the target of misogynistic vitriol, with sexualised and pornographic attacks seeking to undermine her legitimacy and brand her as an illicit sinner. |
| Mob mentality | Marie Antoinette became a scapegoat of a populace impatient for change, with her character distorted and her positive and negative traits exaggerated. |
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What You'll Learn
Marie Antoinette's Austrian heritage
Marie Antoinette, born in Vienna, Austria, in 1755, was the daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Francis I and Habsburg Empress Maria Theresa. She was married at the young age of 15 to the future French king, Louis XVI, in a lavish ceremony at the royal chapel in Versailles. This marriage was a political alliance, intended to cement the relatively new bond between the French and Habsburg thrones.
The French public's perception of Marie Antoinette was influenced by her foreign origin, and she was accused of being disloyal and having a negative influence on the king. They believed that her Austrian heritage made her biased towards her home country and that she influenced the king to be lenient towards Austria and demand the continuation of his absolute power. This led to a major uproar, with revolutionaries storming the palace, demanding her head.
Marie Antoinette's political influence was also seen as benefiting Austria. For example, during the Kettle War, she secured huge financial compensation for Austria from France. Additionally, she obtained Austrian and Russian support for France in the American Revolution, which resulted in the establishment of the First League of Armed Neutrality against Britain.
Overall, Marie Antoinette's Austrian heritage played a significant role in shaping her public image and the hostility she faced in France. Her foreign origin made her a convenient scapegoat for a populace impatient for change and contributed to the intense criticism and ultimate execution she faced during the French Revolution.
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Her influence on the king
Marie Antoinette, born in Austria, was married to Louis XVI, the King of France, in 1770. She was the granddaughter of King Louis XV, the predecessor of her husband. Marie Antoinette's influence on the king was significant, and it had a profound impact on the course of the French Revolution.
Initially, Marie Antoinette had limited political influence with her husband. However, as the revolution progressed, she became increasingly involved in political intrigues, seeking to protect the royal family. The queen's influence on the king was evident in several key decisions he made. For example, on April 20, 1792, when France declared war on Austria, King Louis XVI vetoed the National Assembly's exceptional measures, causing an uproar among the revolutionaries. They believed that Marie Antoinette's influence was the reason behind the king's leniency towards Austria. The revolutionaries stormed the palace, demanding the queen's head. This incident highlights how Marie Antoinette's influence on the king was perceived to shape his decisions, even if it was not always accurate.
Marie Antoinette's influence extended beyond foreign policy. She played a decisive role in the disgrace and exile of Louis XV's powerful minister, the Duc d'Aiguillon, just two weeks after her husband ascended the throne. Additionally, she supported the play "The Marriage of Figaro," which portrayed the nobility negatively, and her support led to its public performance despite the king's initial ban. This incident demonstrates how Marie Antoinette could influence the king's decisions regarding censorship and the arts.
The queen also had a significant impact on the king's personal life. For example, she was known for her sharp sense of style and love for luxury, which influenced the king's spending on extravagant projects, such as the renovation of the Petit Trianon château. Marie Antoinette's expensive tastes and profligate spending habits earned her the nickname "Madame Déficit" from political pamphleteers, who criticised her for her extravagance and disregard for the working poor.
Marie Antoinette's influence on the king also extended to matters of the heart. It is believed that she had romantic involvements outside her marriage, including with the Swedish count Hans Axel von Fersen. The birth of her second son, Louis Charles, nine months after von Fersen's return, fuelled doubts about the child's parentage and led to a decline in the queen's public reputation. However, most biographers believe that Louis Charles was the biological son of Louis XVI.
In conclusion, Marie Antoinette's influence on King Louis XVI was multifaceted and far-reaching. From politics and foreign policy to personal matters and spending habits, the queen played a significant role in shaping the king's decisions and public image. Her influence, often viewed negatively, contributed to the revolutionary sentiment and the ultimate fate of the royal couple.
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Her role in the American Revolution
Marie Antoinette, born an Austrian princess, became the Dauphine of France in May 1770 when she married the Dauphin of France, later King Louis XVI, at the age of 14. She became queen in 1774 when her husband ascended the throne. Marie Antoinette's Austrian heritage was a source of tension and mistrust, as France had a longstanding Austrophobia, considering Austria dangerously imperial, fraudulent, and cruel. This, along with her gender, made her a target of heated and misogynistic vitriol, with popular depictions branding her as a "whore" and an adulterous spouse.
During the American Revolution, Marie Antoinette was able to obtain her brother's support against Great Britain. She also neutralized French hostility towards her brother's alliance with Russia. In 1788, a city in Ohio was named Marietta to express gratitude to France for its help in the American Revolution.
Marie Antoinette's role in the American Revolution, however, was relatively minor compared to her involvement in the French Revolution. As queen, she was unpopular due to her lavish spending and her association with the decline in the moral authority of the monarchy. She rejected reform and resisted the French Revolution, which contributed to the monarchy's overthrow in 1792. She was also accused of being profligate, promiscuous, and having illegitimate children. Marie Antoinette's political influence was perceived to benefit Austria, and she was blamed for escalating the revolution by influencing the king to demand the continuation of his absolute power.
Marie Antoinette's fate was ultimately sealed by the revolution. On 10 August 1792, the attack on the Tuileries Palace forced the royal family to take refuge, and they were imprisoned on 13 August. The monarchy was abolished on 21 September 1792, and King Louis XVI was executed on 21 January 1793. Marie Antoinette's trial began on 14 October 1793, and she was convicted of high treason and executed by guillotine two days later.
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Misogyny and sexualisation
Marie Antoinette was an Austrian princess who married the future French king, Louis XVI, in 1770. She was just 15 years old at the time. As queen, she was the target of vicious gossip and her character was distorted, becoming the scapegoat of a populace impatient for change.
The French Revolution found its anti-hero in the foreign Queen. Marie Antoinette served as a symbol of Austrian conspiracy, the Old Regime, and the malign woman. Her subversive identity made her the target of heated, and mostly misogynistic, vitriol. The Revolution’s hostility towards foreign and domestic monarchical powers found its ideal target in Marie Antoinette, and popular depictions of the Queen branded her as the ultimate subversion of the "good woman". Ultimately, gendered and Austrophobic rhetoric further served to scapegoat the Queen as the orchestrator of a counter-revolution, purging the Republic of its greatest (notional) opponent.
The popular libels against Marie Antoinette were intensely sexualised and pornographic in nature. These attacks took the form of sexual verbal assaults that sought to undermine the Queen’s legitimacy and brand her as an illicit sinner. She was called the ‘Austrian whore’, ‘barbarous Queen’, ‘adulterous spouse’ and ‘tigress of Austria’. These names rendered Marie-Antoinette a non-citizen by anonymising and dehumanising her. Consequently, she became not only the negative ideal of a "bad woman", but also of a "bad citizen". The bestial motif of the Queen as ‘tigress’, ‘wolf’ and ‘harpy’ stripped Marie-Antoinette of her femininity and personhood while simultaneously perpetuating the narrative of her bestial sexual virility.
Marie Antoinette's Austrian heritage did not bode well with the longstanding Austrophobia of the French people. Austria was considered dangerously imperial, fraudulent, and cruel. Fears that Austria sought to expand its empire over Europe were heightened by a series of unpopular treaties, including the 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle and the 1756 Franco-Austrian Alliance, which disproportionately benefited Austrian interests to the detriment of France.
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Her execution
Marie Antoinette's execution on 16 October 1793 was preceded by her trial, which began on 14 October, two days before her conviction by the Revolutionary Tribunal of high treason. She was beheaded at the Place de la Révolution (now Place de la Concorde) at 12:15 pm, two and a half weeks before her thirty-eighth birthday. Her last words were "Pardon me, sir, I meant not to do it", addressed to the executioner, Henri Sanson, whose foot she accidentally stepped on after climbing the scaffold. Her body was thrown into an unmarked grave in the Madeleine cemetery, rue d'Anjou, which was closed the following year.
Marie Antoinette's execution was the culmination of a series of events that began with her entry into France in 1770 as the young Dauphine. She was initially well-received, with the French people charmed by her personality and beauty. However, her Austrian heritage soon became a source of tension, with the French harbouring longstanding Austrophobia. This, combined with her extravagant lifestyle and association with the monarchy, made her a target of hostility and scapegoating. She was accused of being an Austrian spy, a spendthrift, and a morally corrupt deviant, and her image was further damaged by the Diamond Necklace Affair of 1785 and the War of the First Coalition.
Marie Antoinette's husband, King Louis XVI, was executed by guillotine on 21 January 1793, leaving her grief-stricken. Imprisoned in the Tower of the Temple, she barely ate or spoke and refused to go outside. Her hair had turned white from stress, and she was now known as "Widow Capet", stripped of her former title and reverence. Despite her reviled reputation, she had not been charged with any crimes, and her execution was not initially on the agenda. However, after a series of plots to escape failed, she was interrogated relentlessly, and calls for her trial and execution grew louder.
Marie Antoinette's trial and execution were among the opening events of the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution. She was accused of a range of crimes, including conspiring with foreign powers against France, and was found guilty of high treason. Her execution was a public spectacle, with her paraded through Paris in an open cart wearing a simple white dress, her once-luxurious hair shorn. Her death served as a symbolic purge of the Republic's greatest notional opponent and a manifestation of the Revolution's hostility towards women in power.
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Frequently asked questions
Marie Antoinette was an Austrian princess who became Queen of France through her marriage to King Louis XVI. She was called "The Austrian Whore" due to her Austrian heritage, which did not sit well with the longstanding Austrophobia of the French people. She was also accused of adultery and was believed to be influencing the king to be lenient towards Austria.
Marie Antoinette exerted a significant influence on Revolutionary politics. The country felt that it would not be safe with the monarch as long as an "Austrian" was queen. This led to France declaring war on Austria on April 20, 1772.
Marie Antoinette was viewed as out of touch, disloyal, and self-interested. She was also the target of vicious gossip and sexualised attacks that sought to undermine her legitimacy as queen.
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