Marie Antoinette Never Said "Let Them Eat Cake"
The Claim
Marie Antoinette, last Queen of France before the French Revolution, said ālet them eat cakeā when asked to help starving peasants.
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Emerging story
In the 18th century, queen Marie Antoinette wasnāt popular amongst the people of France. To some, she appeared to embody the aristocracy: out of touch, naĆÆve, and selfish. She was so reviled that she, along with her family, was executed via guillotine.
Before she was executed, she was told that the peasants were starving. She allegedly responded with āQuāils mangent de la brioche,ā which translates roughly to ālet them eat cake.ā This claim was circulated via print to the already angry French populace. Ever since, people have attributed the phrase to Marie Antoinette.
Misbarās Analysis
Misbarās investigation found that there is no evidence that Marie Antoinette said, ālet them eat cake.ā Some even assert that it would be against Antoinetteās nature to say something so out-of-touch.
So where does this quote come from? Some say that itās attributable to Marie-ThĆ©rĆØse, a Spanish princess married to King Louis XIV. The French revolutionaries may have heard this story from philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseauās Confessions. In the text, he refers to an aristocrat saying, ālet them eat pastry.ā
Marie Antoinette's alleged quote is thus a historical myth.
