Why the People Hate Her
Marie was disliked from the start because the people weren't happy with the Franco-Austrian alliance (Reid pp.3). She became the scapegoat for all the country’s problems because of propaganda by the press (Nong pp.10). Another huge problem was her inability to bear an heir. This made the royal line unstable, putting Marie in a bad position (Priamos p.5 pp.1). Although it was truly Louis' fault, the French people blamed it on Marie, the foreigner (The French Revolution). She passed over her courtly duties because they bored her, causing the nobles to hate her as well as the commoners (Reid pp.6-7). She dressed extravagantly and gambled, which the people saw as the money for their food and protection being thrown away. She used fashion to establish herself and try to seem in control, but her frivolity and spending caused uproar (Krull and Hewitt p. 42). When the hungry people came to Versailles to complain, Marie's answer was rumored to be, "Let them eat cake." This is untrue, but helped anger people anyway (Ellis and Esler p. 474). She knew she was disliked, but she truly could not understand why.
Picture: Priamos, http://www.marie-antoinette-conflict-and-compromise.com/Compromise.html
