Marie Antoinette

Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette is a movie about the private life of the last queen of France before the Revolution. At the age of fourteen, Marie Antoinette was sent from Austria as part of an arranged marriage which will hopefully bring peace between France and Austria. She must adapt to the unfamiliar etiquette of the court of Versailles and fulfill her duty to provide the next heir to the throne. Her marriage was a failure, and caused her to seek comfort in a reckless series of balls, banquets, parties and spends a fortune on jewellery and shoes. Her marriage improved after the old king dies and her husband becomes the king, they fall in love and have several children. It all went downhill when one of her children died; she was wounded by public hostility. As the people of France started revolting, an angry mob stormed the palace. Facing the crowd from her balcony, Marie Antoinette bows to them and impresses them with her bravery. In the final scene of the movie, the royal family is seen taken away, ready to be sent to Paris as prisoners of the revolution.
There were portions of the movie where it was historically accurate. For instance, when Marie Antoinette was sent to France, she did have to get rid of everything she owned that was Austrian, including her dog. This was so she could become a true Dauphine of France. The morning rituals were all correct. Marie Antoinette had to be dressed by highly-ranking noblewomen that were related to her, and only her closest relatives were able to clothe her. The King Louis XV did die of smallpox, and Louis XVI did say, when he found out that he had become king “Dear God protect us, for we are too young to reign.” Marie Antoinette’s brother, the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II did visit her to ask about the condition of her marriage. He also talked to Louis about sex, which was successful in that the marriage was finally consummated. The Ambassador who stayed with Marie Antoinette in France and helped her when she was...