The Austrian at Versailles

Badass women in history with Kerry Chaput

How Marie Antoinette proves not much has changed.

My latest obsession is researching the French Revolution. Specifically, how Marie Antoinette became one of the most maligned women in history. It’s a surprising tale in how unsurprising it is. Child forced into a world she is unprepared for, finds a way to thrive by pushing against society’s restraints, falls prey to vicious gossip, family is ousted, and woman gets beheaded.

Okay, that last part isn’t typical.
I want to break down who Marie was, who she was not, and how the world came to remember her as the sex-fueled heathen who exemplified greed.

Marie is a bit of a departure from my usual content in that she wasn’t heroic. I wouldn’t say she was very brave. But her story reminds me of a tenent of women’s history: the truth of who you are must contend with the fabricated version of your fantasy.

Maria Antonia was an archduchess of the Habsburg royal family of Austria, the youngest of fifteen children. She was born in Vienna in 1755. Her domineering mother had to manage international tensions. Those pesky Brits were no longer supporting Austria, and the Habsburgs needed an alliance. She saw the all-powerful France to be just that country, despite those royal families historically being bitter enemies. So, she offered her youngest daughter to King Louis XV’s grandson. The planned marriage was set in stone by the time Marie was ten years old.

Continued https://open.substack.com/pub/kerrychaput/p/the-austrian-at-versailles