4. Marie Antoinette’s Dominant Role Conflicted With Public Sentiment
King Louis XVI was characterized as a weak monarch who had never even been interested in affairs of the state. He was often depicted as being a rotund, portly man who loved few things more than a good meal. He paid no attention or regard to the brewing foment that ultimately became the French Revolution and did nothing until mobs of people were already at Versailles.
Marie Antoinette made up for her husband’s incompetence as a statesman and ruler through a dominant position even though some modern scholars claim that her political role was exaggerated. She played her hand in everything from finances to France’s support of the United States in the American Revolution to the ending of conflicts in Bavaria. Marie Antoinette hosted the Holy Roman Emperor for six weeks in 1777. All of her achievements came while she held no official political role, not at all unlike the challenges faced by today’s first ladies. Nevertheless, she met a public that wasn’t too keen on women holding so much political clout.
Likewise, many experts have noted that in proportion to any improper actions, the public backlash that Hillary Clinton has received is incredibly disproportioned with her male colleagues. Compare her scandals with other American presidents, and one has to wonder how much gender bias has to do with how the American public views politicians.