Marie Antoinette Never Said "Let Them Eat Cake"
The Claim
Marie Antoinette, last Queen of France before the French Revolution, said âlet them eat cakeâ when asked to help starving peasants.
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In the 18th century, queen Marie Antoinette wasnât popular amongst the people of France. To some, she appeared to embody the aristocracy: out of touch, naĂŻve, 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 âQuâils mangent de la brioche,â which translates roughly to âlet them eat cake.â This claim was circulated via print to the already angry French populace. Ever since, people have attributed the phrase to Marie Antoinette.
Misbarâs Analysis
Misbarâs investigation found that there is no evidence that Marie Antoinette said, âlet them eat cake.â Some even assert that it would be against Antoinetteâs nature to say something so out-of-touch.
So where does this quote come from? Some say that itâs attributable to Marie-ThĂŠrèse, a Spanish princess married to King Louis XIV. The French revolutionaries may have heard this story from philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseauâs Confessions. In the text, he refers to an aristocrat saying, âlet them eat pastry.â
Marie Antoinette's alleged quote is thus a historical myth.
