Marie Antoinette Exonerated!

Marie Antoinette could never catch a break. Married to a dullard like Louis XVI, losing her head in the French Revolution, being played by Kristen Dunst in the biopic, Marie has been abused by contemporaries and historians alike. It probably all stems from that "Let them eat cake" remark. Being that oblivious to the needs of ordinary folks might give you a long run in the 2012 Republican primaries, but we've all been told it's the classic dumb comment that ended the French monarchy.

Except Marie apparently never said it. I followed an ad on Whale Wars to this interesting new site which can be found here and is a "frequently asked questions" center for issues raised in shows of the Discovery family of channels. It covers subjects from history to ecology to the hard sciences. Definitely worth a look.

According to Discovery, Marie never said the cake thing, and if she did, it was meant as a kindness. This is the favorite ploy I've learned as a Mock Trial Coach, "Yer Hona, my client wasn't at the scene of the crime, and if he were (we class things up at OA by using the subjunctive) he didn't do it." It seems like Marie is off the hook this time for sure. Researchers have traced the origin of the quote to either Jean Jacques Rousseau or Queen Maria Theresa of Austria. The exact quote was probably "let them eat brioche." Brioche is an expensive egg based bread that peasants couldn't afford. A French law allowed people to purchase brioche at the same price as regular bread if the cheaper bread ran out. So, if Marie actually said it she was taking bread out of the mouths of the rich to feed the poor-Marie Antionete, a true Obama Democrat!