RECONCILING MARIE-ANTOINETTE’S IDENTITIES: THE AUSTRIAN QUEEN OF FRANCE AND HER FUTILE QUEST FOR ACCEPTANCE
RECONCILING MARIE-ANTOINETTE’S IDENTITIES: THE AUSTRIAN QUEEN OF FRANCE AND HER FUTILE QUEST FOR ACCEPTANCE

Summary/Abstract: An exceptional woman, Marie-Antoinette also embodied eighteenth-century beliefs about conventional female roles. What were the duties of Marie-Antoinette as the daughter of Empress Maria Theresa, sister of Emperor Joseph II and Emperor Leopold II, wife of King Louis XVI, and mother of the heirs of France? The “real” Marie-Antoinette cannot be recaptured, but an analysis of the many letters she exchanged with her mother (Maria Theresa) and brother (Joseph II) can offer insight into the multiple identities of Marie-Antoinette, and the construct of proper female roles in the late eighteenth century. This paper explores regulatory norms of behavior laid out by Maria Theresa and Joseph II for Marie-Antoinette – the woman, in letters exchanged between 1773 and 1790. Her Habsburg relatives warned Marie-Antoinette about what they perceived as dangerous gender transgressions: the inability to produce an heir, the courtesan-like behavior, and the preference for spending time in a private environment. However, while reminding their daughter and sister to respect the conventions of the French Court, the Habsburg rulers also tried to manipulate Marie-Antoinette to consolidate the interests of Vienna. The queen’s Austrian heritage and her gender transgressions contributed to the harsh judgment of the French public opinion and her execution.

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