Becoming Marie Antoinette (56 page)

Tremendous thanks to my agent, Irene Goodman, and to my editor, Caitlin Alexander, for seeing the story of Marie Antoinette in the same way I do and for their passion and support for my vision; to Maria Zannieri who taught me how to perform the Versailles Glide; to Christine Trent for her expertise on eighteenth-century fashion dolls, and for being a sounding board as well as an encouraging presence throughout the process of writing this novel; to all who chimed in regarding my (now moot, but nonetheless arcane) opera questions on Facebook—your enthusiasm, passion, and knowledge overwhelm me; to Elena Maria Vidal for her generosity in sharing her own wealth of expertise and research. Finally, the words “thank you” could never be nearly enough to express my love, gratitude, and appreciation to Scott, my husband and biggest fan, who thought nothing of hopping on a plane with me to visit Paris and Versailles.

I fell in love with Marie Antoinette (and with Louis Auguste) while I was researching a nonfiction project. Before I began, I knew very little about her life and had more or less imbibed the popular narrative served up by European history courses that painted Marie Antoinette as a bubbleheaded spendthrift. And when I discovered that she was
not
the flaxen blonde she is so often depicted as in novels and films (she was, in fact, a strawberry blonde
—la petite rousse
, “the little redhead,” as Madame du Barry famously insults her), a whole unexplored side of her character opened up.

The more I read about Marie Antoinette and the dauphin, the more I understood that they began their life together as a pair of quite lovable and sympathetic teenagers who were in over their heads politically—so naïve and sheltered that they were completely unaware of the social changes taking place in cities and towns all around them thanks to the writings of men such as Voltaire and Rousseau, whose ideas were being discussed in salons
across Europe. These privileged, pampered royals were both so eager to please their elders that they ended up surrounded by people who took advantage of them. Neither was stupid, but having been raised to believe in the divine right of kings, they were stubborn when it came to any ability to bend with the times. And neither Marie Antoinette nor Louis was particularly well educated—not when compared with the princes of the Renaissance, for example. In fact, because her academic education was so minimal, Marie Antoinette really did have to undergo an intellectual (as well as a physical) “makeover” before the French deemed her adequately prepared to become the dauphine.

While
Becoming Marie Antoinette
is a work of fiction, the events of the novel are entirely based on facts. Every one of the characters involved in Marie Antoinette’s makeover is the actual historical figure responsible for that aspect of her transformation. Once I discovered how extensive and exhaustive her makeover was, I became passionate about tracking down the identities of all the players. The envoys and ambassadors in the novel are the actual historical figures as well.

Most of the letters I use in the novel are based on the genuine correspondence between the parties. The empress Maria Theresa was quite a formidable figure and such a canny politician that I enjoyed letting her speak for herself; I also wanted to show how much was going on behind the scenes, unbeknownst to Marie Antoinette. She did have an inkling that she was being spied on, but she had no idea of the extent of the manipulation or that her own mother was the puppeteer—or that the very people in whom she was assured she could place her trust were in fact betraying her.

There are a few instances where I used a novelist’s license. The events surrounding the
remise
happen on the days they actually took place. There was a barrage of correspondence between
the comte de Mercy and Maria Theresa at the last minute, but I estimated the dates because I couldn’t find any factual information on when exactly the letters were sent. To keep them within the necessary two-day time frame, I envisioned chains of couriers riding hell-for-leather from Kehl to Vienna and back.

The family dinner on the night before the wedding, when Marie Antoinette first sees Madame du Barry from a distance and naïvely inquires as to her role at court, actually took place at the pretty Château de la Muette, a royal hunting lodge located on the edge of the Bois de Boulogne. But since it was the event itself that was of import and not its location, in the novel it seemed simpler to have the dinner take place at Versailles so that there was a minimal amount of shuttling the reader back and forth to locations that would not be germane to the story. Shifting the location of the dinner also gave me the opportunity to place the reader in Marie Antoinette’s shoes, enabling the comtesse de Noailles to enlighten her from the start on some of the protocol of Versailles and the reasons behind it.

Another fictional modification was making the comtesse de Provence, Marie Joséphine of Savoy, more Italian than French. Savoy, or Savoie, was a territory that changed hands several times over the centuries; and it is a fact that the comtesse and her younger sister, Marie Thérèse, the comtesse d’Artois, were notorious for mispronouncing French words, with unintentionally comical results—a detail I make use of in the final scene of the novel. More than likely, the comtesse de Provence would have grown up speaking French but with a regional accent. However, I decided it might be more fun to write her as a native Italian speaker, given some of the other elements of her personality.

One of the reasons I became so eager to tell the story of Marie Antoinette’s early years and of the first few years of her marriage was because I have never found a satisfactory explanation or rationale
for Louis’s infamous dread of physical contact with Marie Antoinette. Historians and biographers concur on Louis’s initial reaction upon seeing his new bride for the first time: He winced. And he purportedly had the same physical response time and time again upon seeing her.

Never, in any of the several biographies I read, was this reaction analyzed. Louis Auguste’s personal physician, Dr. Lassone, after first suggesting that the dauphin was merely overeating and overexercising, subsequently posited that he suffered from a medical condition, and biographers generally agree. But it was also assumed by many scholars that Louis was simply indifferent to Marie Antoinette, that he wasn’t interested in sex, that he was plodding and dull.

Gentle readers, may I submit to you that this is utter poppycock! The dauphin’s affliction will be revealed in the sequel to
Becoming Marie Antoinette
, but the more I read about him, the more I wanted simply to reach out and hug him. No wonder he couldn’t bring himself to consummate their marriage, despite being fully aware of his dynastic responsibility. Add to this the dauphin’s natural diffidence, his nearsightedness, his podginess, and an adolescent’s gawkiness.… Despite his entitlement and birthright, I envision him as all too human, and very much a figure deserving of sympathy.

And of course I find Marie Antoinette to be tremendously sympathetic, as well as far more complex than she is often given credit for being. Marie Antoinette was only fourteen years old when she arrived at Versailles, expected to bear an heir to the Bourbon throne sooner rather than later, and not merely to seamlessly fit in at a foreign court with famously rigid and arcane etiquette but to dominate its social sphere. She was desperate to please but was sent mixed messages by her mother. Marie Antoinette admitted that the empress filled her with awe; she feared
her more than she loved her. Unfortunately, two of Marie Antoinette’s major missteps at court were the result of trying to please her mother by slavishly following her advice.

William Werner, my favorite high school English teacher, used to say, “I can never read
Hamlet
without hoping he doesn’t die in the end.” As I wrote
Becoming Marie Antoinette
, especially the final scene, in which she and Louis, still only teenagers, are now the sovereigns of France, their hearts filled as much with joy and hope as with trepidation, I wanted so desperately to believe in as bright a future as they did driving along the road toward the Château de Choisy, enjoying the adulation of their subjects who cheered for “
Louis le Désiré.
” The irony of their eventual fate filled me with sadness.

I hope you enjoyed
Becoming Marie Antoinette
, and that it piques your desire to continue her story. The second part of her dramatic life will be told in
Days of Splendor, Days of Sorrow
, to be published in summer 2012, followed by the third novel in the Marie Antoinette trilogy in 2013.

1. Why does the author choose to open the story with the dead butterfly? What does it come to represent, and at what other moments throughout the novel does the butterfly become significant? Discuss its significance.
   
2. “Hadn’t Maman taught us that there was no such thing as ghosts or goblins or demons? There was no room for superstitious silliness among the Hapsburgs; we were not dwellers in the Dark Ages, but children of the eighteenth century—the Age of Reason.” Given Antonia’s observation, what explanation would you give for Josepha’s strong premonition that she is going to die? In what ways does this early event shape Antonia’s character?
   
3. Monsieur Ducreux says that he never paints empty dresses, and Antonia mocks him by declaring that she is an empty dress. How much truth is there in that joke? Give specific examples
   from the rest of the story in which Antonia either fits or flouts your definition of an “empty dress.” Do you place more value on academic skills or on other talents?
   
4. Discuss the appeal of fashion in the novel. What is suggested by the fact that many of the styles that are de rigueur at Versailles are considered outmoded by the Austrian court? Would you enjoy dressing every day in those enormous gowns and huge hairstyles?
   
5. What, to you, was the most surprising detail of Antonia’s makeover? Do you think her transformation was ultimately beneficial? In what ways do you imagine Antonia would have been a different dauphine if she hadn’t had those experiences?
   
6. Juliet Grey makes the court etiquette described in the novel lively and colorful, although Antonia finds it burdensome and tedious. If you were being groomed to become the dauphine of France, would you handily sail through the hours of lessons and preparations that it took to memorize all the rules, and perhaps even enjoy abiding by them?
   
7. Before Antonia departs for Versailles, she spends a week with her mother at the convent at Marizell. Why is Maria Theresa so insistent on this trip? Discuss the role of religion in both the Austrian and the French courts. In what ways does Antonia embrace or ignore her Catholic upbringing, particularly as it relates to the controversy over Madame du Barry?
   
8. Consider the Hapsburg family motto that serves as the epigraph to the novel: “Others wage wars; you, happy Austria,
   marry.” At what other moments in the story is the motto recalled by one of the characters? Why is this significant? What do you think the French see as the primary benefit of the alliance? How effective is Antonia at handling the tremendous political pressures of her role, and what, if anything, would you have done differently? Can you think of a modern equivalent to this sort of political marriage?
   
9. Why does Marie Antoinette envy Madame du Barry at first—before she realizes who (and what) she is? Which woman do you admire more?
   
10. In Maria Theresa’s first letter to Antonia, she writes, “Avoid consorting with those who are underlings, for their trust may be both fleeting and fickle; and grant no requests unless the abbé, Comte de Mercy, the duc de Choiseul, or the king himself has sanctioned your ability to hear them.” How does this advice become particularly important? In what ways does it become a hindrance? Discuss, too, the repercussions of the correspondence between Maria Theresa and the abbé Vermond, comte de Mercy, and the king that takes place without Antonia’s knowledge.
    
11. Louis Auguste and Antonia first bond over the terrible fate of the citizens who were killed in the trenches outside the Palais Royal. What does this say about their characters? Given what you know about history, does this incident surprise you? What prevents them from building on this initial bond until much later?
    
12. Antonia’s shining moment as dauphine is arguably her presentation at the Tuileries, described vividly in a letter to her
    mother. Why is she so well received by the people of Paris, despite their feelings about the king? Contrast Antonia’s stumbles throughout the novel with her successes: What are the common denominators that determine whether or not she will triumph?
    
13. All of Europe seems to be speculating on Antonia’s marriage, but nothing can make Louis Auguste consummate the relationship. Read the author’s essay in the reader’s guide on writing
    Becoming Marie Antoinette
    . Do you find Juliet Grey’s portrayal of Louis Auguste to be sympathetic? While you were reading the novel, what did you speculate was Louis’s problem? How do you think he really felt about his wife?
    
14. Do you think Antonia truly comes to love Louis, despite her reservations? How, if at all, would their relationship have been different if they had chosen each other?
    
15. When Papa Roi dies, Louis Auguste tells his wife, “I am the most unhappy man in the world.” What does he mean by that? Compare Louis Auguste’s relationship with his grandfather to Antonia’s relationship with her mother. In what ways have these relationships defined the dauphin and dauphine? Is there a decisive moment in the story in which each steps out from the shadow of his/her elder? If not, do you think there will come a time when it’s possible for them to do so?
    
16. In the final lines of the book, Antonia observes, “All France is at our feet today. And just imagine what we shall make of it!” Why does the author choose to end the book with this line?
    Given what you know of subsequent events, in what ways is this comment prophetic?
    
17. If you could spend an afternoon in the company of one of the characters from
    Becoming Marie Antoinette
    , who would it be? What’s the first question you would ask him or her? Which of the locales in the novel would you most want to visit?