For many of the people who know me personally, they know that I am obsessed with everything that has to do with the French Revolution and Marie Antoinette (otherwise known as the last queen of France).
Where did that obsession come from you wonder? Well first of all the story of Queen Marie Antoinette is with no doubt one of the most tragic stories in history.
In my situation, It all started with a anime I watched when I was younger. Lady Oscar is what it's called in Arabic but in many other languages it's known as The Rose Of Versailles. The story of the anime takes place in France during the 1700s when Louis the 13th, the king of france marries off his grandson Louis the 16th to Maria Theresa's daughter Maria Antoinia (an austrian princess) who later became known as Marie Antoinette.
Growing up, I got more and more interested in reading about that time in France that was going through an era that changed the course of history where the people formed a union against the ruling of the King and Queen. The story to me is more like a soap opera and it is evident in the number of novels/fiction/movies written about Marie Antoinette and the era of the French Revolution.
However, to me the sad thing is the ideas and "misconceptions" most people have about the queen, with the famous quote "Let them eat cake" that she didn't say according to Author Antonia Fraser who wrote Marie Antoinette: The Journey that Sofia Coppola adopted into a movie in 2006.
Pls keep in mind that A) the queen was 14 years old when she got married. B) France and Austria were enemies 7 years prior to her marriage to Louis. C) She was handed over to a court that is known for being emotionless and overly strict. D) Being young, she trusted people around her and they took advantage of that. E) She was accused of not wanting to have children when her husband Louis had a condition that didn't allow him to preform his part, besides being awkward and not know how to deal with his wife.
Finally I just end with a quote by the queen herself. “Courage! I have shown it for years; think you I shall lose it at the moment when my sufferings are to end?”
1 comments:
whoaa! i never thought i’d be interested in learning about the french revolution. it took my 10th grade history teacher a whole semester to convince us that french history matters… and she failed miserably LOL.. However, after reading a few paragraphs you wrote, i couldn’t be more interested.. *google-ing marie antoinette*
Post a Comment