| Marie Antoinette | |
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 | |
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Real Name |
Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne |
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Born |
2 November, 1755 |
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Died |
16 October, 1793 |
Origin[]
Marie Antoinette In Tomb of Terror #10
Marie Antoinette was the Austrian queen consort of King Louis XVI of France. Her name is associated with the decline in the moral authority of the French monarchy in the closing years of the ancien régime, though her courtly extravagance was but a minor cause of the financial disorders of the French state in that period. Her rejection of reform provoked unrest, and her policy of court resistance to the progress of the French Revolution finally led to the overthrow of the monarchy in August 1792.
As queen, Marie Antoinette became increasingly unpopular among the people; the French libelles accused her of being profligate, promiscuous, having illegitimate children, and harboring sympathies for France's perceived enemies, including her native Austria. She was falsely accused of defrauding the Crown's jewelers in the Affair of the Diamond Necklace, but the accusations damaged her reputation further. During the French Revolution, she became known as Madame Déficit because the country's financial crisis was blamed on her lavish spending and her opposition to social and financial reforms proposed by Anne Robert Jacques Turgot and Jacques Necker.
Several events were linked to Marie Antoinette during the Revolution after the government placed the royal family under house arrest in the Tuileries Palace in October 1789. The June 1791 attempted flight to Varennes and her role in the War of the First Coalition were immensely damaging to her image among French citizens. On 10 August 1792, the attack on the Tuileries forced the royal family to take refuge at the Assembly, and they were imprisoned in the Temple Prison on 13 August 1792. On 21 September 1792, France was declared a republic and the monarchy was abolished. Louis XVI was executed by guillotine on 21 January 1793. Marie Antoinette's trial began on 14 October 1793; two days later, she was convicted by the Revolutionary Tribunal of high treason and executed by beheading by guillotine on 16 October 1793 at the Place de la Révolution during the French Revolution.
Marie Antoinette is perhaps best known for the quote, “Let them eat cake.” As the story goes, upon hearing that the people had no bread to eat around the start of the French Revolution in 1789, the queen commented “qu’ils mangent de la brioche,” referring to a type of French bread. However, there is no evidence that Marie Antoinette actually uttered these words, and historians generally agree that such a heartless comment would have been highly uncharacteristic of the French queen.
Public Domain Appearances[]
All published appearances of Marie Antoinette before January 1, 1930 are public domain.
Notable appearances are listed here.
Some Notable Appearances are listed below:
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
- Le Chevalier de Maison-Rouge by Alexandre Dumas, père
- The Well of Loneliness (1928)
Public Domain Theatrical and musical appearances[]
- The Guilty Mother
Public Domain Movie appearances[]
- Scaramouche (1923)
Public Domain Comic Appearances[]
- Adventures into the Unknown #33: True Ghosts of History feature on the headless spirit of Marie Antoinette materializing on the anniversary of her death.
- Tales of Horror #6 - Edgar Tilburt was a petty thief who one day visits an out-of-the-way shop and is shown glass bottles containing live tiny people inside of it, who are actually Genie. For $50 million, the bottle and any Genie is his to make whatever living from it he can. When Edgar tells the shop owner that he only has $5, the owner agrees and sells him the bottled Genie anyway. Treacherous Genie grants Edgar's first wish and summons the most beautiful woman in history and have them be in love with Edgar. The genie summons Cleopatra, Helen of Troy, and Marie Antoinette. However unsatisfied he also has the genie bring him the bottle of the female genie from the shop as well. The two genie trick Edgar into getting into the bottle and he is trapped and sent to the shop where he is sold and then thrown into the ocean by the de-satisfied buyers.
- Tomb of Terror #10: In the feature titled Why We Call It Blue Monday, it tells of terrible historic events took place on a Monday including the murder of Abel by Cain. It also mentions the destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah, the betrayal of Christ by Judas, the murder of Julius Caesar on the Ides of March, the destruction of the Spanish Armada, and the execution of Marie Antoinette.
- Stories By Famous Authors Illustrated #1: A brief biography of the French queen Marie Antoinette.
- Jumbo Comics #130 : In the feature titled The Courageous Marquise (Part II), not only Marie Antoinette appeared but also La Fayette and King Louis XVI of France.
- Amazing Man Comics #17: Facts about people born in November including Marie Antoinette, Daniel Boone, Robert Fulton, Joe Dimaggio, and Mark Twain.
- Cookie #28: Starlet O'Hara and Fritzi temporarily give up their room in the Studio Club for 2 weeks to veteran actress Mavis, back in Hollywood to star in a movie. Starlet and Fritzi discover there is a housing shortage in Los Angeles, so they decide to camp out in the studio, sleeping in a set representing Marie Antoinette's bedroom. But it turns out this is going to be used for a film, so they have to hide during the day and sleep in shifts at night. At last the two weeks is up, and Mavis gives Starlet and Fritzi their reward: autographed photos of herself.
Notes[]
- Marie Antoinette syndrome is a purported condition where some or all or some of the hair on the scalp suddenly turns white. Rumor has it that the queen’s own hair turned white the night before she was scheduled to be executed at the guillotine, hence the name.
- In One Piece, the character Sarie Nantokanette was named after Marie Antoinette.