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.

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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."

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,

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.

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!