Let them eat cake! Another hypothesis is that after the revolution, the phrase, which was initially attributed to a great variety of princesses of the French royal family, eventually stuck on Marie Antoinette because she was in effect the last and best-remembered "great princess" of Versailles. Tian Chi, quoted in Joshua A. Fogel, Peter Gue Zarrow, "Yandex.Translate – EN-FR "Let them eat brioche, "Is That Infamous Marie Antoinette Quote You Know a Myth? In France, we find the quote ‘Qu’ils Mangent de la Brioche’ uttered by a ‘great princess’ in Rousseau’s autobiography Confessions. But it was not attributed to her until half a century later. Her English-language biographer wrote in 2002:[7][better source needed]. Although published in 1782, Rousseau's Confessions were finished thirteen years prior in 1769. ", https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/05/06/477033781/from-coal-to-code-a-new-path-for-laid-off-miners-in-kentucky, https://archive.thinkprogress.org/learn-to-code-decoded-the-campaign-against-laid-off-journalists-is-harassments-new-frontier-20725ddd480a/, "Ivanka Trump tells jobless Americans to 'Find Something New,' reinvents 'Let them eat cake, "Ivanka Trump Telling Jobless Americans to 'Find Something New' is Today's 'Let Them Eat Cake, "Did Ivanka Trump Take One for the Team on 'Find Something New'? A French writer named Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr reported finding the quote ‘Let Them Eat Cake’ in a book from 1760 when Marie-Antoinette was just five years old. Despite Marie-Antoinette’s undeniably lavish lifestyle, historians agree that she was an intelligent woman who displayed sensitivity towards France’s poor, starving population. In the book, Rousseau recounts an episode in which he was seeking bread to accompany some wine he had stolen. During the reign of Louis VIX & Marie Antoinette (1774 â 1792) much debt incurred due to the War with Great Brittan. Drizzle in the honey and continue whipping the mixture until very thick and pale in color, about 3 to 4 minutes. So, the Queen allegedly said, “Then let them eat cake.”. Kira is a freelance writer and Editor-at-large for RedState. [6] Objections to the legend of Marie Antoinette and the comment centre on arguments concerning the Queen's personality, internal evidence from members of the French royal family and the date of the saying's origin. "Melania Trump faces backlash for Rose Garden renovation: "She cut down Jackie's trees! Although anti-monarchists never cited the anecdote during the French Revolution, it acquired great symbolic importance in subsequent historical accounts when pro-revolutionary commentators employed the phrase to denounce the upper classes of the Ancien Régime as oblivious and rapacious. Delightful." Feeling too elegantly dressed to go into an ordinary bakery, he recalled the words of a "great princess":[4], At length I remembered the last resort of a great princess who, when told that the peasants had no bread, replied: "Then let them eat brioches. | Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Contact | Work with Us |, A Local’s Guide to the Arrondissements of Paris (Districts of Paris) [2021], Americans in Paris: Things to Know Before Traveling to Paris for the First Time. During her marriage to Louis XVI, her critics often cited her perceived frivolousness and very real extravagance as factors that significantly worsened France's dire financial straits. Another problem with the dates surrounding the attribution is that when the phrase first appeared, Marie Antoinette was not only too young to have said it, but living outside France as well.