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Marie Antoinette
Marie-Antoinette is one of the most fascinating and controversial figures in all of French history. This volume explores the many struggles by various individuals and groups to put right Marie's identity, and it simultaneously links these struggles to larger destabilizations in social, political and gender systems in France.
Looking at how Marie was represented in politics, art, literature and journalism, the contributors to this volume reveal how crucial political and cultural contexts were enacted "on the body of the queen" and on the complex identity of Marie. Taken together, these essays suggest that it is precisely because she came to represent the contradictions in the social, political and gender systems of her era, that Marie remains such an important historical figure.
Looking at how Marie was represented in politics, art, literature and journalism, the contributors to this volume reveal how crucial political and cultural contexts were enacted "on the body of the queen" and on the complex identity of Marie. Taken together, these essays suggest that it is precisely because she came to represent the contradictions in the social, political and gender systems of her era, that Marie remains such an important historical figure.
307 pages, Paperback
First published March 7, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
dnf
September 23, 2023Read p99-115
December 19, 2023
read for school
November 20, 2012
My fascination with Marie Antoinette began with the superb Marie Antoinette: The Journey by Antonia Fraser and led me to pick this up in my library the other day.
It's an excellent, challenging and occasionally provocative collection of essays written to address, challenge, and contradict the various facets of the construct that Marie Antoinette has become. It is very much not a linear biography.
This brave and unusual approach allows these diverse authors to discuss Marie Antoinette in a variety of ways, from the Diamond Necklace Affair, the bawdy propaganda she became increasingly subject to, and her detailed correspondence with her redoubtable mother, and many more besides. I was particularly struck by the essay dealing with her letters, and I loved how this shifted into a discussion of the epistolary narrative as a concept.
Some essays were deeply challenging, and necessitated several reads in order to fully grasp their implications. There's a joy in collections of this nature though that you can choose your own path through the book, reading the final essay first, or hopping through on your favourite topics.
Throughout this collection is an awareness that Marie Antoinette was a multi-faceted individual and that's something I particularly appreciated. There's a sensitivity to that approach and a maturity that acknowledges both her role as public object and private woman.
Writings On The Body Of A Queen (oh that title is so good) is an excellent and thoroughly recommended academic exploration of this period.
It's an excellent, challenging and occasionally provocative collection of essays written to address, challenge, and contradict the various facets of the construct that Marie Antoinette has become. It is very much not a linear biography.
This brave and unusual approach allows these diverse authors to discuss Marie Antoinette in a variety of ways, from the Diamond Necklace Affair, the bawdy propaganda she became increasingly subject to, and her detailed correspondence with her redoubtable mother, and many more besides. I was particularly struck by the essay dealing with her letters, and I loved how this shifted into a discussion of the epistolary narrative as a concept.
Some essays were deeply challenging, and necessitated several reads in order to fully grasp their implications. There's a joy in collections of this nature though that you can choose your own path through the book, reading the final essay first, or hopping through on your favourite topics.
Throughout this collection is an awareness that Marie Antoinette was a multi-faceted individual and that's something I particularly appreciated. There's a sensitivity to that approach and a maturity that acknowledges both her role as public object and private woman.
Writings On The Body Of A Queen (oh that title is so good) is an excellent and thoroughly recommended academic exploration of this period.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews