Marie Antoinette, Woman to Scapegoat
Today there is a tendency to overlook small factors in history that may seem silly, trivial, or irrational. However, these factors often have great influences over people and need to be observed. Marie Antoinette's involvement in the French Revolution is the perfect example of a tiny catalyst causing a great deal of change. The revolution was undoubtedly caused by the growing discontent of the French population towards the abuses of the upper class. However, no revolution could succeed without symbols or icons like Marie Antoinette. It was through clever rhetoric and twisting of facts on the part of French revolutionaries that Marie Antoinette became an icon for corrupt monarchy, thus, altering her image from a caring queen to a greedy wretch to aid in the advantage of the revolutionaries' political objectives. Born to the Austrian empress Maria Theresa on November 2, 1755, Marie Antoinette was obliged to marry Louis XVI of France to symbolize an alliance between Austria and France. Ironically, in the beginning of her marriage to the prince, Marie Antoinette was loved by the French people. She further established her reputation for kindness and compassion by stopping her carriage for over an hour to aid an injured pe
Although the time itself was a difficult time for the French monarchy, it was mainly Antoinette's own attitude to her position that caused the most serious damage. In an age when monarchs were supposed to be servants of the state, it was especially important to present an image of devoted self-sacrifice to their subjects. However, it was precisely this demeanor that Marie Antoinette shrugged off when she arrived at Versailles. A bride at fifteen and a queen at nineteen, Marie Antoinette, like all teenage girls of her generation, was fascinated with things not in relation to holding a political position of a country. She was interested in flowers and sentimental literature. However, these things should have been hidden behind the mask of a strong queen. Catherine de Medici, Cleopatra, Agrippina, Messalina, my deeds have surpassed yours, and if the memory of your infamies still provokes a shudder, if its frightful detail makes the hair stand on end and tears pour from the eyes, what sentiments will issue from knowledge of the cruel and lascivious life of Marie Antoinette [...] barbaric Queen, adulterous wife, woman without morals, soiled with crime and debauchery, these are the titles that are my decorations (Thomas178). Unavoidably, Marie Antoinette was in the center of the entire ordeal. In the process of the whole scandal, her public image was transformed from an innocent victim to a spiteful hag. The revolutionaries chose to take advantage of the situation and use the corrupted queen as a scapegoat for the French Revolution. Through Marie Antoinette,
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Approximate Word count = 1698
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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