Summary:
It is about Marie Antoinette and her life. A biography.
Marie Antoinette wasn't the loved by the French because she was a foreigner and this lack of respect for her ultimately led to her execution. In addition to her foreign descent, scandals such as the Diamond Necklace scandal further tarnished her already stained reputation. Although most of the rumors spread about Marie were false, they still planted their seeds of hatred in the minds of the French citizens. Unfortunately, Marie was forced to fight a battle that could never be won in her favor.
Marie was born in the country of Austria into an already large family on November 2, 1755. She was the youngest daughter of 15 children, although not the youngest of the all. After Marie, baptized Maria Antonia Josephina Johanna, her mother gave birth to a boy. Perhaps she was the youngest daughter, she received the least amount of discipline and schooling, and was very far behind academically. To maintain good favor with the little archduchess, her governesses would greatly reduce her "book work" and allow her to do as she wished. As a result, she could barely read at the age of 14.
Maria's mother, Maria Theresa, wanted to form an alliance between France and Austria by giving Maria Antonia's hand in marriage to the heir of France's throne - Louis XIV. Supposedly, she only chose Maria because she was the closest in age to the Dauphin. Realizing that her daughter was not skilled academically, Maria Theresa hired two people to teach her. This would have been fine, except that Maria Theresa was a smart queen. The King of France would not want the future Dauphine to be taught by common actors. If he truly wanted Marie Antonia, then he would send an appropriate teacher. If he didn't, then Marie Antonia had no hope of becoming the bond that would hold France and Austria together.
Marie Antonia's new tutor was a man named Abbe de Vermond. He also shortened her study hours, but instead of replacing them with free time, he had long conversations with her. Not only did Marie Antonia learn during these periods, but she also developed a trust for him. This made him the perfect person for her mother to use as her spy when Marie Antonia went to France. Finally, after much conversing between the two rulers, Louis XV sent the official marriage proposal on June 13, 1769. Marie Antonia was going to get married! On May 7, 1770 Marie arrived at the border of France and Austria, where she met French officials in a château that stood on both sides of the French-Austrian border. It was here that all of the necessary rituals were performed, and Archduchess Maria Antonia became Marie Antoinette, Dauphine.
Her husband, Louis XVI was a very shy and withdrawn young man, with a horrible lack of self-confidence. His parents, who had both died of tuberculosis, preferred his older brother to him, and showed it. His tutor did not help the poor boy, instead "castrating" his already timid persona. By the time Marie arrived, he was convinced that no one was even remotely interested in him, so he was very withdrawn. The people in his court mistook this quiet nature as stupidity, and so the Dauphine was thought to be unintelligent.
Once Marie became Queen of France, her old habits returned to a much higher degree. She took up gambling, and overspent on all of the latest fashions. One year, she bought 170 dresses and exceeded the dress allowance by 40, 000 livres. In addition to the latest clothes, she also had her hair styled every day, and spent over 849,000 livres on diamonds. For her parties, she spent 200, 000 livres for the Petit Trianon, where she hosted small parties.
As it very well may be seen, Marie and Louis had very different personalities. Although this difference did not cause them to fight, they did not get along, and their marriage suffered. Louis liked to hunt and blacksmith work, which Marie considered "dirty" and hated it. Marie, on the other hand like to go to parties, see plays, and gamble. Marie was a tall woman with a lovely complexion, gracious movements, and a disdainful mouth. Her beauty and forwardness intimidated Louis, and he feared her. For this reason, Marie was without child for a very long time. Neither of the ruler's parents had schooled them in the art of reproduction, until Josef, Marie's older brother, came to visit. He admonished Marie for being so wasteful, and taught them both how to go about making babies. On July 29, 1777, seven years after she married Louis, she wrote to her mother that she had gone to bed with her husband. By April of 1778, Marie was pregnant, and gave birth to Princess Marie Theresa on December 18, 1778. Unfortunately, this triumph was met with double the pain, because Marie miscarried her next baby, and her mother died in 1780. On October 22, 1781, Marie gave birth to the Dauphin.
Just as things began to look up for Marie and Louis, rumors started about Marie. A battle began against Marie that she could not possibly win. Rumors and scandals initiated, and even though most of the rumors were not true, and some scandals were not her fault, the people of France believed what they heard because it gave them a reason to hate the Austrian-born queen. One of the most well known scandals was the diamond necklace affair. A diamond necklace was ordered by the queen or so the jeweler thought. When he sent the bill to the palace, Marie Antoinette claimed that she had nothing to do with it. Eventually the jeweler was paid, but the damage was done. As more and more scandals surfaced, Marie was despised by the public
This is the complete article, containing 958 words
(approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page).
