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[goose3gg]

Marie Antoinette (2006) and being a woman, femininity, and adulthood.

This 2006 film written and directed by Sofia Coppola captures the eerie feeling which Marie Antoinette experienced while transitioning from the daughter of the Habsburg Empire to the last queen of France prior to the French Revolution. This film is a great representation of the female experience historically, and I want to discuss the ways the film explores womanhood, and what responsibility women carry behind the scenes. Not only this, but it captures the true irony of a woman’s power; that we apparently are feeble enough to handle ridiculous things, such as aesthetics, poise, dressing, and drama or pleasantries, yet are held responsible for vital elements of community, such as birth, consummation, and graces.

Upon the opening of the film, we see Marie Antoinette, on her way to be given over as a peace offering to France from Austria, a girl that couldn’t be older than 14. She is riding with her dog, her friends, in her carriage until the border of Austria and France approached. In this carriage ride, we see her passing the time, being a child: playing card games, blowing fog onto the window, sleeping, relaxing, etc. To me this represents her childhood, coming to meet its death, not only the death of being considered a kid, but also the privilege of not being sexualized as one, which being a woman you aren’t always given that. She has not met her suitor, she leaves behind her dog, her friends, her family, and everything for people who upon first arrival have no cares for her aside from what she can give them: quintessential womanhood. One of the women waiting sneers “she looks like a child,” however the grandfather of the king to be, the King reminds the men to always “check her bosom first.” This paradoxical child-ification whilst sexualization is what being a teenage woman is; to every woman you are annoying, green, childlike, stocky, as you are the potential, they once had however to men you are unprinted on, your flower remains, unknowing, fertile, youthful, and virgin-like [absolutely disgusting and very representative of the times but grows truer with reflection].

The ritual of waking up, whereas Marie Antoinette (Kirsten Dunst) is awoken with her court completely dressed, with her being in her nightgown, I see as a clear representation of the nakedness which adult womanhood carries. A step further I could see how even fame could be represented through this scene, how the court is arguing over whose responsibility, or honor it is to dress her in her clothes. Eventually Antoinette says, “this is ridiculous,” being awoken by a room of people and needing to be naked in front of them, first thing, the reply she is given is “Madame, this is Versailles.” From this scene, we see a pair of women who are in Antoinette’s court, who give her advice, direction, and aide her. Yet a scene later, we see them privately discussing how they believe she’s an Austrian spy and don’t trust anything she says. We are constantly reminded of Antoinette’s isolation and how simultaneously she is smothered with the material things surrounding her. From this, we see the issue with the non-consummated marriage arising, hearing many are gossiping in the hallways of Versailles in front of Antoinette which results in her shutting herself into a room crying. This non-consummated marriage also results in a letter from her mother, reminding her if there isn’t a baby soon, she will be at fault for not being “willing and sweet” enough. The movie’s central focus on Marie represents the way the matriarch of families carries the responsibility of holding the family together. Antoinette is not her husband, making important financial decisions on who the country supports, how they are represented, yet she is held nearly more accountable than he is. By the final act of the movie, we see how the revolution has turned over, and their once frivolous life is now faced with the chaos residing outdoors, being the angry French citizens. Until this moment, we don’t truly grasp how the revolution will affect this couple, although we know it to be inevitable, as that from their perspective it wasn’t of dire response. As watchers of the movie, we have seen Marie only just fall into comfortability with this kingdom, creating a garden, a family, parties, and fun, now suddenly faced with more responsibility on top of all she has been handed to deal with. We long as viewers for Antoinette to get a break, to have a breath but the reality is, in womanhood there is no relief. Antoinette, although incredibly proud of what she has built will die with none of it, a youthful death of 37, and never will see her daughter older than the age of 14, same as her mother who passed shortly before the revolution. Truly, women are stretched thin in this movie, yet we see every woman of lesser fame or magnitude than Antoinette receive that relief, as that less eyes are on them. It reminds me of the unfortunate trend in rape culture where woman won’t help another woman because she should’ve known better, etc. I think this movie represents how women are told we should have been wiser, better, even if we had no way of knowing what we did was incorrect. People wonder why women tend to be perfectionists and my answer is I wish you’d stop expecting perfection from us. The movie ends with a haunting final scene with birds singing, the view of the bed the royal couple once laid in surrounded by chaos and shattered glass. This bed was where Antoinette existed, resting, birthing, dressing, for her entire life, thinking she was waiting for the good part but alas it had already passed – that is womanhood.