Who Is To Blame For Marie Antoinette's Downfall

In times of chaos and disarray, the public often looks to the hierarchy for order. In the case of the French Revolution, however, the nobility became the foe. The people of France were angered by their lack of rights and the inequality between the upper and lower classes. Marie Antoinette's life and death had much influence on these events. Her marriage to King Louis was unpopular among the French, and her expenditures that led France further into the black eventually resulted in her murder by the people whom were damaged most by her extravagant life. (Bienvenu 1) The arranged marriage between an Austrian archduchess and a French heir was meant to solidify an alliance, but it may very well have caused a revolution; one of the deadliest of all time. (Marie Antoinette Columbia 1)

Marie Antoinette's marriage was unhappy in every way, and the disconnection between her husband and her made them weaker when faced with the revolution. The marriage remained …show more content…
However, Queen Marie Antoinette's gambling habits and eye for expensive things certainly did not make France's situation better. Instead, it plunged the country deeper into debt, and its citizens deeper into starvation and taxes. Not only was Marie Antoinette disliked for her infidelity, but also for her lavish and expensive lifestyle. Flattened by the pressure to produce an heir, and refused by her husband, Marie Antoinette found new hobbies and friends to fill her time. Without worry of a budget, she surrounded herself with the most beautiful clothing, the most exquisite meals, and the wealthiest acquaintances. Many lower-class saw her lifestyle and blamed her for their starvation, and Marie Antoinette became an enemy of the republic; not only for her connection to nobility, but her contribution to people's suffering. (Bienvenu