6 Chapter 5 Motherhood

Chapter 5 Motherhood Everyone in France was waiting for Marie Antoinette to become a mother. The royal Bourbon line needed a son to take over the throne after the king died. Not only were the French people angry at her for not having a baby, but her mother was, too. The empress continued to send Marie Antoinette scolding letters. She even sent her son, Emperor Joseph, to talk some sense into her daughter. Joseph came to Versailles in April 1777 and stayed for six weeks. While there, he lectured his sister about her foolish friends, silly hair and makeup, and wasteful gambling.

法国的每个人都在等待玛丽·安托瓦内特成为母亲。 波旁王室需要一个儿子在国王死后继承王位。 不仅法国人民因为她没有生孩子而生气，她的母亲也很生气。 皇后继续给玛丽·安托瓦内特寄责骂信。 她甚至派她的儿子约瑟夫皇帝去劝导她的女儿。 1777年4月，约瑟夫来到凡尔赛，待了六个星期。 在那里，他训斥妹妹，说她愚蠢的朋友，愚蠢的发型和妆容，以及挥霍无度的赌博。

To everyone's relief, Marie Antoinette finally became pregnant. On December 20, 1778, the king, the royal family, and a crowd of guests filled her bedchamber. The crowd watched the twentythree-year-old queen give birth to a baby girl—not an heir to the throne. Many people were disappointed. But Marie Antoinette told her baby daughter, Maria Therese, whom they called Madame Royale: "Poor little girl, you are not what was desired, but you are no less dear to me on that account. A son would have been the property of the state. You shall be mine."

让大家松了一口气的是，玛丽·安托瓦内特终于怀孕了。 1778年12月20日，国王、王室成员和一群客人挤满了她的卧室。 人群看着这位23岁的女王生下了一个女婴——不是王位继承人。 许多人感到失望。 但是玛丽·安托瓦内特告诉她的小女儿玛丽亚·特蕾莎，他们称她为皇家夫人:“可怜的小女孩，你不是我想要的，但你对我来说并不因此而不重要。 儿子本来是国家的财产。 你将是我的。”

Around the time of Madame Royale's birth, the king and the French government were focused on America. The colonies there had declared independence from England. They no longer wanted to be ruled by a king, and they fought against England in the American Revolution. King Louis XVI sided with the Americans. This led to England declaring war on France. Many French noblemen left to fight in America. With so much attention and money devoted to war, however, little was left for the poor people of France. Marie Antoinette didn't concern herself with politics, especially now that she was a mother. She tried to live a more private life, spending lots of time at Petit Trianon. The queen dressed more simply, wearing gowns of plain white fabric tied with a sash. She wore her hair loose and topped it with a straw hat. She created a tiny farm community on the grounds of Petit Trianon. There was a farmhouse,

大约在皇家夫人出生的时候，国王和法国政府把重点放在了美国。 那里的殖民地已经宣布脱离英国独立。 他们不再希望被国王统治，他们在美国独立战争中与英国作战。 国王路易十六站在美国人一边。 这导致英国向法国宣战。 许多法国贵族前往美洲参战。 然而，把这么多的精力和金钱投入到战争中，留给法国穷人的却很少。 玛丽·安托瓦内特不关心自己的政治，尤其是现在她是一个母亲。 她试图过一种更隐秘的生活，在小特里亚农度过了很多时间。 女王的穿着更为简单，身着素白布料的礼服，系上腰带。 她披散着头发，头上戴着一顶草帽。 她在小特里亚农建立了一个小农场社区。 有一个农舍，

a barn, a henhouse, a mill, and cottages, as well as cows, sheep, goats, and poultry. It was created to look as if it had been there for many years. She hired a farmer, gardeners, and cattlemen to take care of the fields and animals. Marie Antoinette and her friends enjoyed living what they considered to be a simple life in her pretend village. At the same time, common people in real villages around France suffered and starved.

谷仓、鸡舍、磨坊和农舍，还有奶牛、绵羊、山羊和家禽。 它被设计成看起来好像已经在那里很多年了。 她雇了一个农民、园丁和养牛人来照料田地和动物。 玛丽·安托瓦内特和她的朋友们喜欢在她的虚拟村庄里过着他们认为简单的生活。 与此同时，法国各地真正的村庄里的普通人也在受苦挨饿。

Rumors and gossip spread as Marie Antoinette spent so much time away from the palace. Nobles were jealous that they weren't invited to Petit Trianon. People were angry that she no longer wore dresses made of French silk. She was the French queen, after all! Most of all, even though royal families had done so for centuries, they were upset that Marie Antoinette spent so much money that they felt belonged to France and its people!

由于玛丽·安托瓦内特长时间远离王宫，谣言和流言四起。 贵族们嫉妒他们没有被邀请到小特里亚农。 人们对她不再穿法国丝绸做的衣服感到愤怒。 毕竟，她是法国女王!最重要的是，尽管王室已经这样做了几个世纪，但他们对玛丽·安托瓦内特花了这么多钱感到不满，他们认为这些钱属于法国和法国人民!