Paris women: Marie Antoinette



A women that I have always admire is Marie Antoinette. My first introduction to her was in the Mr. Peabody and Sherman movie. She is most know for saying "let them eat cake" but she is much more than the cake lady. She become the Queen of France at such a young age with her husband Louis XVI not so much older than her. They didn't fully understand how to rule the country and that lead to them not paying attention the famine the country was going through. Marie also like to live a luxury life and a lot of the country money did go to her to buy dress and throw parties for the rich. they lead to the poor hating the monarchy. At the age of 37, she was killed by the people who overthrew the monarchy.  Unfortunately, she lived a short life due to her lack of knowledge to fully rule the country. 

What I think makes her contribution to Paris so important is she clearly showed the division between the rich and the poor. Marie shows the example of how little the rich knows about the poor and how the country is running. She is well known by everyone everywhere but people on know her as these cheating, rich, clueless Queen instead of actually spending the time to really know her. France judge her before they even met her because she was Austrian. She shows how quickly people/men can turn on women and blame them for the downfall of the country instead of blaming the Kings. She did bring the people of france awareness that they need to revolt to change the state of their enemy so without her, the French Revolution probably wouldn't have happened.

I think she has been commemorated well. She really didn't do anything outstanding in her time.  She has a lot of movies made about her life and is taught in schools. She is kept a live through the Palace of Versailles. They kept her room and her house in the garden the same and dedicated that to her.  Walking though the palace,  I imagine how she live her life in the building and how she would spend her days in the garden. Mostly, I think she is commemorated though stories about her. People will always tie her with the French Revolution and will know that she was the Queen of France. Even though she barely had any accomplishments, she is well known. A lot of Kings and Queen in the Past don't have that. 







Comments

  1. Great post audrey! Thus period of revolution and monarchy in france is fascinating. Great synopsis!

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  2. I love that you did your woman of choice post on a woman with such a great name, Audrey! All jokes aside, I think learning about Marie Antoinette helps us understand Paris as a cultural capital better. You did a great job explaining how she was such a big part of history and how she is well known. Her reign and demise help show the socio-political dynamics that shaped Parisian society, which I think contributes to a richer understanding of the city’s historical and cultural evolution.

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  3. Audrey, I like how you decided to focus on Marie Antoinette in your Paris Woman choice post. I like how you pointed out that she is more than what she is sometimes known for. I also like how you pointed out how she wasn’t very liked by the people because of her extravagant lifestyle. Great post!

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