In Marie Antoinette’s Letter to Her Mother, 1773, she writes to her mother about her visit to Paris where she walked with her husband through the Tuileries. From the information at the top of the letter, it’s notable that she was in Versailles at the time she wrote the letter, on the 14th of June, 1773. This letter was written in a time of financial chaos, where the country was bankrupt and looking for solutions to the increasing problems of the three Estates. Antoinette’s husband, Louis XVI, was to replace Louis XV once he passed on, and the people that crowded the Tuileries were looking to him for change, particularly under the rule of an absolute monarchy. Antoinette indicates receiving a large amount of admiration from the crowds …show more content…
She is speaking to her mother, who was the queen of Hungary and Bohemia, therefore making her a princess herself, which helps to explain why she uses delicate-sounding terms such as “blush,” “precious,” and “affecting.” Her tone could also be explained by the fact that she is writing to her mother. One may conclude that she is trying to sound more appropriate and admirable with the terms previously mentioned, but since this is a private letter, her message is protected from outsiders and she is free to speak her mind as she pleases, therefore it is possible she simply wished to sound this way or was used to speaking in this manner, being raised in a sophisticated environment. In addition to this, a lot of the words she uses are French, which could indicate that she wrote the letter in French and the letter was not completely translated, or she wrote it in English but used these French terms without knowing the translation. Some examples of this are “fete”, which could mean a birthday or a celebration, and dauphin, which literally translates to ‘dolphin’ in English, but in France it was also a nickname given to the eldest son of the king since the name once belonged to a royal family that went by the name of …show more content…
She was awaiting her time as queen of France, likely very excited to hold such a title, and her letter made her appear slightly unprepared to handle the role she would soon take on. Her immaturity is expressed in the following: “What was really affecting was the tenderness and earnestness of the poor people, who, in spite of the taxes with which they are overwhelmed, were transported with joy at seeing us” (Internet Modern History Sourcebook, 1998). While it is certain that she is conscious of the peasants’ penury, she regards this group as “poor people” instead of using an appropriate term, which demonstrates her lack of understanding of this group’s deep-rooted problems. She does not seem to think that they have any other issues besides poverty, such as the lack of privileges and rights that wish to have. It appears that their poverty is the only thing she takes notice of, apart from recognizing that they are frequently ordered to get hit by the guards, which does show her intention of learning more about being a fair queen someday, earning their respect and admiration through respectful treatment. Overall, the unpreparedness she demonstrates can help historians understand that she was not fully aware of what being queen was going to entail, and she was going to gain that title not long after writing this
The French Revolution was a period of radical change of political, economic, and social structure in France in the eighteenth century. During this period, King Louis XVI and Queen Marie-Antoinette were in power, but soon were beheaded by the infamous guillotine during the overthrowing of the French monarchy. This was caused by their neglect to address the agrarian distress between the middle class and peasants in France, the lack of trust between the French and their monarchy due to Queen Marie-Antoinette’s suspicious correspondences with Austria, and the sheer and absolute hatred that the French had for the Austrian Empire in which Queen Marie-Antoinette was born in.
In 1765, Holy Roman Emperor Francis I, her father, died of a stroke. He left Maria Theresa his position, and gave their eldest son, Emperor Joseph II, the throne. Because of this political, it became a requirement for Marie Antoinette to marry Louis Auguste. Her mother sent her to France and agreed on this marriage. It was hard to adjus...
In the book, Marie Antoinette: The Last Queen of France , the author, Evelyne Lever, paints a beautiful portrayal of the life of Marie Antoinette; from an Austrian princess to Queen of France to her untimely death at the end of a guillotine. Marie Antoinette was the fifteenth child born to the Empress Maria Theresa and Francis I, the Holy Roman Emperor. She lived a carefree childhood until she was strategically married and sent to France when she was fourteen years old. The marriage between Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI, the future King of France, was meant to bring Austria and France closer together politically. Unfortunately, that did not happen; instead the monarchy collapsed with Marie Antoinette managing to alienate and offend a vast
The Diary of Anne Frank is about Anne Frank’s life in the Secret Annex hiding from the Nazi’s. The diary shows how the members of the Secret Annex help each other keep hope in spite of dark times.
King Louis XVI was next in line for the throne in 1774 and gladly inherited it from Louis XIV to become the ruler over France. He drastically changed the whole country and put its people through ghastly conditions. There was not a soul left unharmed. In Paris, nearly half of its population in 1788 was unemployed. They produced no crops due to them not growing and had extremely high prices on food. With the whole nation already furious with his doings, he decided to marry Marie Antoinette who was foreign. They decided to blame her for their problems of their economy because they figured that King Louis was letting her make major decisions and control them. Together, Antoinette and Louis had a total of four children. Their oldest child lived to be seventy-three.
King Louis nation had a massive reaction focused on the King’s plight and return. The Reaction was not only seen in Paris alone but also on the other provinces, where a widespread phobia caused by foreign invasion led to the utter news of the King’s escape. Nevertheless, Tackett identifies the royal family plight to flee France as one of the most critical moments in the history of the French revolution. The king’s flight opens a window to the whole of the French society during the revolution. The purpose of the Kings flight was to offer freedom of action in terms of power and this was in regards to the King’s power and rule. The royal couple together with their advisers had unclear political agenda for their nation. Similarly, it is in the vent of these unclear goals factored by the Kind’s technical knowhow of not making decisive decisions that led to the stoppage of the royal family at Varennes and thereafter their return to Paris. The consequence of their return to Paris was the onset of the constant possibility of the end of the Monarch reign. On the same case, it is as a result of the royal family escape attempt and failure necessitated the integrity of the King as a constitutional monarch. On a much more political notion, The King’s hope of survival is mitigated
When Marie crossed the border at fifteen into Paris, everything about her previous identity was stripped down and carted away. She became a fine edition to the French court, and the current king, Louis XV wrote in his journal, approving of her being "full-figured and delightful.” She adjusted to a new life and language, and a few months later, at the coronation ceremony, her husband Louis XVI was crowned the next ruler of France, and her in turn, queen. In her early years, she was popular among the aristocracy and nobles (Morris), but as time passed with endless court rituals and strict etiquette, Marie became bored of her position and her failing husband. Louis XVI allowed for his wife to endure the reproachful mockery of the elite, as the pair was unable to produce an heir for nearly a decade, at the faulting awkwardness of the king (Marie Antoinette: Story of a Queen through Primary Sources).
Catherine des Roches' " Epistle To Her Mother" The "Epistle To Her Mother" by Catherine des Roches of Poitiers discusses the very close and dear relationship that exists between mother and daughter. In this letter, the daughter gives a very detailed and vibrant description of the closeness and respect that she shares with her mother. She also reveals her thankfulness to her mother for all that her mother has bestowed upon her.
Marie Antoinette, or officially known as Marie-Antoinette-Josephe-Jeanne d'Autriche-Lorraine, was born in 1755 to the life of luxury as the Princess of Austria. Her family was rather close despite being raised by a series of governesses. She also received the necessary education at that time. At age 14, her mother arranged Marie to be married
Thesis Statement: Marie Antoinette is an influential person because she was only fourteen years old when she got married. She was also a teen idol and after she passed away a U.S city was named in honor of her. Marie Antoinette was born on November 2, 1755, in Vienna, Austria (Source 1). Marie Antoinette was the 15th out of 17 children from her mother (Source 1). Marie Antoinette’s parents were emperor Francis I and empress Maria Empress (Source 3). Marie Antoinette lived a childhood that was mainly carefree (Source 4). Her education was emblematic of an upper class girl (Source 1). She mainly learned how to act and how not to act when she was at school during her childhood (Source 1). France and Austria had been enemies for a long time, but when Maria Theresa and Emperor Francis I were king and queen they made a treaty (Source 3). Marie Antoinette married Louis XVI to strengthen France and Austria's bond
The film “Marie Antoinette” is a very useful source when looking into her life. It shows the extravagance of her life very extremely, in order to get the point across that is really was so very extravagant. However it leaves much of the political matters out, only giving glimpses into small meetings with the king and his advisers.
France she sees herself making millions and coming back to her homeland and spreading her wealth around with her loved ones (136). She proclaims that if ...
The peasant women who bought the food really revolted against the high prices. The French Revolution’s riots started on July 12th, and on July 14th. storming of the Bastille (royal prison) that symbolized the depotism of the Bourbons) because of the provocative acts of Louis XXVI. Suspicions also grew. around Marie Antoinette that she was in constant communication with her brother.
To find out Marie Antoinette’s influence on the French Revolution, we first need to list some of the speculated causes of the uprising of the French people. Many believed that the financial trouble of France had a big part in causing the French Revolution. France had spent many years fighting foreign wars, and helping in the American Revolution, which left the country near bankruptcy. Despite the knowledge of these wars, many believed Marie Antoinette had caused the bankruptcy with her generous amount of spending. In 1788-89, there were many food shortages because of crop failure (Schwartz). According to Britannica, the crop failures in 1788 lead to a economic difficulties, and left the population tumultuous. Rumors spread that Marie Antoinette was hoarding grain in the palace (Muller). The quote “Let them eat cake” was created during the crop failures to represent the Queen’s reply to the crop failures. The royal couple recognized the dislike the people had for them...
Marie Antoinette, Queen of France from 1770 to 1797 was despised by the people of France. Their hatred of her and the monarchy in general led to the French Revolution. Many issues led to the unpopularity of Queen Maria Antoinette, her vanity, her disregard for the people, but perhaps the most significant was the Affair of the Diamond Necklace.