The Diamond Necklace Affair: Marie Antoinette

“The Diamond Necklace Affair” provided fodder for the hungry journalists who were eager to portray Marie Antoinette as selfish and corrupt. Her reputation was permanently destroyed in the eyes of the people. Severe poverty, hunger and heavy taxes contributed to the citizens’ unrest. The American Revolution of independence and democracy inspired the French citizens to want the same for themselves; they no longer wanted the oppression of monarchy.
When Louis XVI convened the Estates-General meeting, Marie Antoinette rode around the streets of Versailles in her carriage to welcome the members. The crowd glared abhorrently at her. In a sermon at the Church of Saint Louis, the Bishop of Nancy protested that the Queen’s spending was the cause of

This event marked the beginning of the French Revolution; the people had had enough of the monarchy. Although Louis XVI had a chance to quell the rebellion with force, he was afraid to face conflict and failed to stop the masses (Brown 4). During the raiding of Bastille, the whole royal family was forced to move to Paris, and lived under the careful watch of the National Guard. They were not locked in, and could have left secretly had they chosen to do so. However, Louis was unable to act; if anything, Marie Antoinette was the more decisive on out of the two. As Antonia Fraser observed, “she was decisive where he was indecisive, and she was courageous when he was vacillating.”(Covington) She pleaded to other European sovereigns to invade France and help them, but no other nation wanted to get involved. The King, Queen, and their children were held captive for about two and a half years until 1791, when Hans Axel von Fersen arranged the family’s escape. The King’s indecisiveness played a big role in the failure of the escape. The plan was to flee to the town of Montmedy. Initially, the plan was to make the trip in two carriages to not arouse unwanted suspicion. However, the Queen wished for the whole family to travel together, and Louis could not reject her request