According to page 98, “At the heart of Marie Antoinette’s personal failure – as the Empress saw it – was her inability to inspire sexual passion in her husband. Nothing was quite certain about her position until the final physical act was performed that was intended to crown the Franco-Austrian alliance.” The young Dauphine had too much to carry on her 14-year old shoulders. She was to worry about completely carrying out her marriage which would heavily strengthen the Franco-Austrian alliance. And the only way to do that was to forget that they were strangers and “conduct the final physical act”. This must have …show more content…
been exceptionally hard for a 14 year old girl that was soon considered “childish” by the father of her husband.
Marie had been known to have an undeveloped figure, leading to many disappointments, despite the fact that she was only 14 years old.
Found on page 77, “But her undeveloped figure… was somewhat of a disappointment, even if it had to be admitted that it was satisfactory enough for her age. In general, the King’s verdict on the Dauphine was spontaneous and a little childish.”. Due to her “undeveloped figure” many saw her and treated her as a child. This may have been very depressing to a young girl especially due to the fact that the King, the father of her husband Louis XVI, was disappointed by her body and regarded her to be “childish”, which may have taken a very heavy toll on the young Queen of
France.
When putting yourself in the place of Marie Antoinette in her marriage you can clearly see she was an inadequate wife in her marriage. For example, it took her a span of seven years to consummate her marriage. Yet, it was not all due to her. Louis XVI, the Dauphin and soon King of France, had suffered from a medical condition that made him unable to “do it”. Therefore, she is not the only one to blame. Consequently, Marie Antoinette should respected for what she had to face at a very young age. She had the patience and strength to go through seven years without producing a royal heir, showing that she was able to hold her ground and finally go through with it, whilst also breaking her views as being “childish”. And all at the age of 14! Marie Antoinette should be regarded as a figure of persistence, patience, and strength in her marriage.