The vast majority perceives Marie Antoinette as a symbol of debauchery and magnified extravagance, which resulted in the downfall of the French monarchy. However, when observing history it is crucial to remember that our perception of historical figures can be distorted by media which were intended to create a false image. In the case of Marie Antoinette, her representation was, to a great extent, formed by negative campaigning of anti-monarchists.
Anti-aristocratic propagandists of the French Revolution used a range of media such as libel, pamphlets, posters, satirical plays and execution ballads, among others. This mediatization of politics was caused by the reduction of censorship after the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, published in 1789 (Goldzweig, 1980), which brought major changes in the perception of the monarch. Marie Antoinette and her husband Louis XVI are regarded as one of the major victims of these propagandistic publications. Not seldom did Louis XVI’s failures in his political decisions backfire on Marie Antoinette's reputation. Vilifying media often claimed that Marie Antoinette had an allegedly significant influence on state issues and was the root of the crisis that swept over France. (De Angelis, 2019) Moreover, propaganda criticised her non-French origin, her initial failure to produce a male heir, her extravagant lifestyle and multiple other features that reinforced hostility towards the last Queen of France. However, it is pivotal to be mindful of the fact that manipulative media exaggerated Marie Antoinette’s shortcomings and frequently generated new ones.
A demonstration of the power of propaganda was capturing the public's interest with an excessively sexualised image of Marie Antoinette. A striking example is her romantic involvement with Count Axel von Fersen, an affair that garnered large coverage and was an endless source of inspiration for cartoonists. Furthermore, publicists made assumptions about her sexuality, claiming Marie Antoinette frequently organised orgies for lesbians and had a sexual relationship with Princesse de Lamballe. Other publications claim she had sexual relationships with her son Louis Charles (De Angelis, 2019). Although one cannot distinguish with complete certainty which of these claims were rumours, it is unquestionable that most of them were inflated in the press.
Another aspect of Marie Antoinette’s life criticised by the French revolutionaries and citizens was her lush lifestyle. The splendid architecture of the Palace of Versailles and her wardrobe prove that the criticism was justified. However, there were plentiful myths and sabotage exaggerating Marie Antoinette’s lifestyle and carelessness. A striking example is the renowned quote, “Let them eat cake”, falsely ascribed to Marie Antoinette. Some historians argue that the revolutionaries adopted and spread this quotation from Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s The Confessions, wherein he was referring to “a great princess”. However, it is implausible that this great princess was Marie Antoinette, considering that at the time Rousseau was writing his piece, Marie Antoinette had yet to meet her future spouse. (Cunningham, 2023) Another case in point is the famous Diamond Necklace Affair of 1785. Cardinal Rohan was misled by the self-appointed Countess of La Motte to buy an exorbitantly priced diamond necklace for a woman he falsely mistook for Marie Antoinette. Previously, the jewellers had already offered Marie Antoinette the necklace. Nevertheless, she turned it down because of its outrageous price. Soon rumours reached the public that the Queen had spent a fortune on a necklace whilst the French people were suffering a financial crisis. (Nowlin, 2018) Although Marie Antoinette was unaware of Cardinal Rohan’s actions, her reputation was shattered, never to recover.
While inflating Marie Antoinette’s downsides, propaganda often overlooked the numerous hardships Marie Antoinette had to suffer over the course of her tragic life. Marie Antoinette was only thirteen when she assumed the weighty responsibility of being a wife to a French crown prince. From an early age, she confronted enormous pressure both from her familial and broader social environment. She was expected to live up to the standards of the French royal court and adapt her behaviour to conform to French conventions. Under the hostile eye of the public, she was faced with the relentless scrutiny of every minor misstep. Not only did Marie Antoinette contend with mistrust from the French populace, but she also encountered scepticism from courtiers and her own spouse, owing to her Austrian origin. Despite hostile sentiments of the French peasants and a massive influx of defaming media, Marie Antoinette matured into a thoughtful monarch who continued to maintain inner strength throughout the downfall of the monarchy. (De Angelis, 2019)
The aim of the aforementioned propaganda against the French royal family was to foster anti-monarchist sentiments among French citizens and destroy the royal family’s reputation. Considering that pamphlets were often the only source of news for the majority of the population, propaganda had a significant influence on the opinion citizens had of Marie Antoinette. Acknowledging that such means of negative campaigning were often full of rumours, readers were likely to have an inaccurate impression of the royal figures that influenced their actions and finally led to the overthrow of the monarchy during the French Revolution. Not only did disinformation mislead society under monarchist rule, but also nowadays. Our contemporaries’ viewpoints are established by modern media such as films, books and parodies that rely on propaganda published by anti-royalists of that time. Developing media literacy by distinguishing biased sources is a skill applicable not only to publications from the French Revolution and other historical sources but also to modern-day publications. Unlike peasants under the French monarchy, we can take advantage of a wide range of news sources. However, it is beneficial to apply basic hermeneutic principles to interpret the information critically and consider possible ulterior motives.
To conclude, it is of paramount importance to consider the source of information we draw on when forming an opinion about a historical figure. In the case of Marie Antoinette, a significant amount of modern day portrayals rely on media published by anti-royalist, who had vindictive motives and the intention to foster intense dissatisfaction with the monarchist French government.
References
De Angelis, L. (2019). Marie Antoinette: Misunderstood Monarch?. The Histories, 26(8), 3-17.
Cunningham, J. M. (2023, October 9) Did Marie-Antoinette Really Say “Let Them Eat Cake”?. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/story/did-marie-antoinette-really- say-let-them-eat-cake
Goldzweig, A. (1980). Literary Censorship in France: Historical Comparisons with Anglo-Saxon Traditions, 1275-1940. Comparative Literature Studies, 17(3), 287-304.
Nowlin, C. (2018). Scandal: Public Reactions to Two Famous Affairs in History. Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History, 8(2), 132-140