Quote Originally Posted by Shaka_Khan
I have turned my attention to the French Revolution recently. Plus, the books of Marie Antoinette that appeared in the bookstore caught my attention.

I'm beginning to feel more and more sorry for her the more I learn about her. The book has changed my view on history.
History has many sides and angles indeed. It is never simple. I think it's great you take an interest into this subject.

I won't shed a tear about M-A though. 'Antoinette herself was caring for her subjects' you say. Well gah. She was a queen, at the height of aristocratic decadence. She cared for her subjects the way people care for their canaries. They want them fed and healthy for their entertainment.

She made the ultimate insult of the aristocrtatic regime by building le Hameau de la Reine, 'the hamlet of the queen'. This was a mock village, quaint little country homes were she could play 'peasant'. As if she was playing with dolls. The cows were washed, the sheep perfumed, the cottages luxurious inside. M-A however thought this was a good rendition of the much simpler pastoral life she was apparently so envious of.

Meanwhile blissfully ignoring that real peasants witnessed their children starve under the yoke of an immense tax burden. Taxes who were spend on warfare to enlarge noble estates or on maintaining the luxury of the aristocracy - who could then 'play peasant' with it.

Alas, this is neither the monastery or the backroom, or I'd conclude with some well-deserved stories about the guillotine here. None as good as that joke by ShadeHonestus though.