Marie Antoinette is a renowned figure in the French Revolution. She greatly aided in provoking the popular unrest, which ultimately led to the French Revolution, where the Monarchy was overthrown in 1792. She was the last Queen of France, where she became a symbol of excesses of the Monarchy and was often credited with the famous quote, “Let them eat cake.” She was beheaded nine months after her husband, which was by order of the Revolutionary tribunal.
The role of Marie Antoinette was not official. She was expected to produce a male heir to enable her husband’s royal line to continue in the Monarchy. The young King. Louis XVI was greatly welcome by the French who expected him to continue with his father’s great work and bring in new ideas (Wiesner-Hanks, 2021). However, this did not end up as expected, where the King’s economic policies failed, and the Queen failed to produce an Heir.
As the King lost interest in governance matters, the wife became aggressively social, where she attended Opera and dances, gambling, and even partying late into the night. She was very flamboyant with the latest fashions and had secret lovers, where rumors were spreading out of control. This prompted anger and frustrations by the French people, where the royal family was forced to feel and live in Prison-like isolation (Wiesner-Hanks, 2021). They were later arrested and sentenced. Ultimately the legislative Assembly suspended the Monarch, making French a republic. From the story, it is manifest that the character of Marie Antoinette greatly contributed to the French Revolution due to her behavior and the disappointment, and the anger she caused to the citizens of France.
