Born in my homeland, Austria as the daughter of the Holy Roman emperor Francis I and the empress Maria Theresa, I traveled to France at age 14 to marry the Dauphin Louis XVI to make sure of the alliance between Austria and France. In order to do that, I was to produce an heir to the royal family. Louis, however, had the opposite personality of mine, which was happy, cheerful, frivolous, and imprudent in my actions and choice of friends. This did not work out well, for he was not cooperative in the production of the heir (Though it has been said that he had a disease in those first seven years). As a result, the whole nation of France was furious at me, as I am the wife.
Even after the heir was produced, they continued to hate against and create rumors about me. Some of them were that I said "Let them eat cake" when my people were starving and needed bread to eat; another is the Diamond Necklace Affair, when another woman of the court decided to plot against me so that she could pay off her debt and give me a horrible reputation.
Overall, since it was during the revolution and the people of France did hate me, I am the last Queen of France. As they killed me, they killed monarchy; after the revolution, the French government adapted "an indivisible, secular, democratic, and social Republic".
Date de Naissance:
November 2nd, 1755
Date de Mort:
October 16, 1793
Sexe:
Female
Croyances Politiques:
I am the Queen of France. By birth I am Austrian, with the name Maria Antonia, however, in my heart I am a true French. After I had children, I changed my views of my status in the government (even if my people did not notice it) and began to do some work for the better of my country. As a queen I believe in the monarchy and don't support the revolution.
Croyances Religieuses:
I attended the Chapel Royal at Versailles. It was built for King Louis IX, the Crusader King.
I am a strict Roman Catholic. It was also highly anticipated by the court that the King and Queen attend the royal services.
As my fame for my actions grew, it became even more important that I attend the services; my absences became increasingly noticed.
Situation de Famille:
Married to French Dauphin Louis XVI, later the King after my father-in-law King Louis XV died of smallpox.
Louis-Joseph-Xavier-François (Dauphin) 1781-1789. He died at age seven of tuberculosis.
Louis-Charles (Dauphin after his brother's death) 1785-1795. He was imprisoned with me and Marie-Therese after his father's death and died in prison of tuberculosis. Madame de Rambaud took care of him until age seven.
I am the Queen of France, my job is to satisfy my country's needs.
Interets/Loisirs:
Music; playing the harp and dancing
When I was young without children, I loved parties and going out with my friends.
Beautiful Versailles fashion
Accomplissements:
Many acts of charity; one time, I attended a dying man and arranged for the family to receive an income, and took in an orphan boy in another.
I was able to unite the country of France.
Education:
Growing up in the court, I did not receive education from my busy empress mother, but from a governess (It also had to do with the fact that my sister was her favorite child and I was the neglected daughter). She was happy to spoil me; I spent more time playing around with my happy spirits than studying. This resulted in a sub-par education for me; by the time I was twelve, I could barely read and write in German, my native language.
However, I enjoyed music even as a little girl, so I am an excellent harpist and dancer.
Personnage que je voudrais rencontrer et pourquoi:
Louis XIV because he built Versailles.
Amis:
Princesse de Lamballe: I appointed her the Superintendant of the Queen's Household, and she was one of my closest friends.
Liaisons
I am accused of having several affairs; most of these were made up by my haters and simply worked to ruin my reputation.
The most persistent rumor is with a Swedish diplomat, Count Hans Axel von Ferson. It is true, he is one of my favorites, however, we were not lovers; the citizens took that out of proportion.
The Diamond Necklace Affair: It started out with the Cardinal de Rohan wanting an improved social status at the Versailles. Coincidentally, Jeanne de la Motte, in need of money to pay off her debt, presented to him a solution, using the name Comtesse de la Motte. She wrote him a letter in my name, and had my look-alike meet him to give him a rose. After that, she told him that I had ordered a diamond necklace with the worth of 1,600,000 livres. I later found out that the jewellers first created the necklace to sell to my father-in-law, King Louis XV for Madame du Barry, and later to my husband for me, but of course the kings both refused. The cardinal actually purchased the necklace and handed it to Mme de la Motte to hand it to me. However, Mme obviously would not do such a thing; she gave it to her husband to smuggle into England to sell it in London. Trouble came to me when the jewellers demanded payment for the costly jewelry from the court. I had never heard of the incident up to that point. Mme de la Motte was imprisoned, but the news had become public. The convict also then escaped to London to spread the rumor even further.
Citation Memorable:
"Let them eat cake," (Antoinette)
Now I didn't actually say that of course. However, the citizens of France who did not have the money to purchase food blamed me. The truth is, my husband, Louis XVI sent a lot of funds to the Americas to aid the Revolutionary War. The one who actually said it was Marie-Therese, the wife of Louis XIV. She lived a century before me.
Mon Influence sur la Culture Francaise
I had a negative influence on the country of France during the Revolution. In truth, this is not true. I was accused of being an disloyal Queen. This started when I could not convince the Dauphin to produce an heir for the country with me. He was a quiet man and his main interests were hunting and working in his locksmith shop. Since I was then bored, I went to party and had great fun with my friends. These events did not particularly please the citizens either. The hate from the people continued even after I had had my children. People spread rumors about me and accused me of doing things I never did. In addition, they did not pay attention to the charities and good things that I did.
My intention was to be a good Queen and help my home country. When I receivedcriticism from everybody, even my brother about not producing an heir, I was under a lot of pressure. Still, I attended church and followed through with my actions after my pregnancy. I changed my ways and became responsible. Even when I was heartbroken after the deaths of my children, I did many good. I did not receive the best education growing up, but I did the best I could with the little knowledge I had. This influenced the small number of people that I was able to reach personally, but the majority still were unaffected.
In the end of the Revolution, I was put in prison with my family, after being found guilty for treason with Austria. It is true that I seeked help from my homeland; I asked them secretly to intercede in France. A war started, and my husband and I were tried. After the royalty was abolished in France, the whole royal family was transferred to the Temple Prison. Louis's trial began in December of 1792, and he was sentenced to death in January the following year. I followed suit in October. Until the last minute, I held my head up high, as the Queen of France; as the last official Queen of France. I was the very last of the many honorable Queens of France. With the death of my husbnad and I, the monarchy of France ended, and a new page of history opened for France with the new Republic.
"The Affair of the Diamond Necklace in the Court of Marie Antoinette." French Places. 2009. 9 June 2009 <http://www.francethisway.com/history/affairdiamondnecklace.php>
EM, Vidal. "Marie Antoinette : A Reputation in Shreds." Marie Antoinette Online. 2008. 9 June 2009
The research is very through and good. I learned much more about Marie Antoinette's life. The pictures were very good and I really like the added in youtube video from the movie.
So cool, love how you used images from the movie in it. The paintings are cool too, gives insight into more of the facts in her life that we didn't see in the film
I really liked this, you put a lot of work into it obviously, going into more detail instead of just stating facts that everyone already knows. Good work!
:D
-Sarah Koerber
Comments (10)
Indrani Saha said
at 11:11 am on Jun 12, 2009
Really nice job! I like the images you used and the clip from the movie.
Christina Jaegering said
at 11:11 am on Jun 12, 2009
Really nice page! the oictures are awesome and also the quote was really cool
Clarissa Wormsbaecher said
at 11:15 am on Jun 12, 2009
The research is very through and good. I learned much more about Marie Antoinette's life. The pictures were very good and I really like the added in youtube video from the movie.
Mariah Gardziola said
at 11:18 am on Jun 12, 2009
So cool, love how you used images from the movie in it. The paintings are cool too, gives insight into more of the facts in her life that we didn't see in the film
Ashley Hou said
at 11:24 am on Jun 12, 2009
great job! i really liked the images and the video.
Karolina said
at 11:27 am on Jun 12, 2009
i think you did a really good job capturing her personality throughout your blog (: it shows ou worked hard on it! :]
Pooja Suresh said
at 11:28 am on Jun 12, 2009
Good job, I learned more about Marie Antoinette, and the images and videos enhanced the webpage.
Sarah K. said
at 11:29 am on Jun 12, 2009
I really liked this, you put a lot of work into it obviously, going into more detail instead of just stating facts that everyone already knows. Good work!
:D
-Sarah Koerber
Joshua said
at 11:31 am on Jun 12, 2009
I thought your memorable quote was good, but I also thought you could of added more of her influence on French Culture.
Craig Willette said
at 11:42 am on Jun 12, 2009
Thorough page, always more than one sentence with almost every bullet. Interesting.
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