I have, since little, been fascinated by Marie-Antoinette. Queen of France; if Marie-Therese, her mother was considered a remarkable and great stateswoman, Marie-Antoinette has always been classified as a frivolous person, a person who lived mainly in a dreaming, beautiful world disconnected by the reality of his people.
She married at just 14 years Louis XVI a boy not incredibly beauty or attracting, unfortunately pretty shy; someone she didn't like.
Time ago watching in an italian cultural program dedicated at Marie-Antoinette by Alberto Angela, Ulisse, I understood that there was evidence of a strong correspondence between her and Axel Von Fersen, the biggest love of her existence. Not only: that they are working for deciphering some letters.
When I discovered that Editions Tallandier published a book only dedicated to the topic I tried to ask for a book review copy and grazie, grazie, grazie, they sent me that!
Le Grand Amour
de Marie-Antoinette Lettres Secrets de la Reine et du Comte de Fersen by Evelyne Lever is a wonderful discovery. The first Eleven Chapters treats the existence of Marie-Antoinette, and her love-affair with Fersen, the final part is dedicated to the letters exchanged by the lovers in particular during the years 1791-1792.
Symbol and one of the most iconic characters of a disappeared world, profoundly hated by its citizenship, Marie-Antoinette accumulated, when she died also the phantomes and secrets of the old regime, "thrown away" by the arrival of the Republic. The myth of a queen absolutely insensible at the requests of the third state, meant for the republicans the justification for having killed her.
In that existence, lived as we said before in extreme luxury and in a continuous fairy-tale is innested the story with a Swedish man who would have made the difference in the existence of Marie Antoinette: Axel Von Fersen.
It's only at the end of the XIX century that there is the possibility of seeing the first correspondence of Marie-Antoinette thanks also to mister de Klinckowström, a relative of von Fersen; he published some of the correspondence of his ancestor Axel von Fersen with Marie-Antoinette, in particular the one from 1791-1792.
A lot of French people immediately were more than interested to see the rest of letters, if a real correspondence between the two existed, but the man, exasperated, and feeling a lot of pressure, told that he had burned all the rest.
In 1982 the descendants of mr de Klinckowström revailed that the letters existed; they were not burned and they have been bought by the Archives nationales de France. The author confesses that she has been one of the first of seeing them in person.
Considering the crypticity that some letters contains in 2014 three institutes started to collaborate together: les Archives nationales, la Fondation des sciences du Patrimoine and the Centre de recherche sur la conservation.
Let's try to reconstruct some bit this love and existence of this unlucky lady.
First of all Marie-Antoinette.
Marie-Therese, the mother of Marie-Antoinette represented in Austria the christian morality and she has been a strong and beloved statist.
Little Antonia, Marie-Antoinette later, was a gracious and little baby when born. She had miriads of other siblings. An anedoct: one day Mozart, performed for the royal family and the little Marie-Antoinette promised him of marrying him.
When the hypothesis that Antonia could become queen of France always more realistic the first worry of Marie-Therese was the lack of culture of her daughter. It was a marriage created, this one, for establighing a good relationship between the two countries; sure worries were a lot; Marie would have abandoned forever her country, language, people, at a little age, just 14 years. Was it indispensible? Marie-Antoinette once in France and married with Louis XVI has always lived with an internal torment that wouldn't never ceased.
The frank, honest and sunny character of Marie-Antoinette conquered immediately Louis XV, the father of the Dolphin.
Louis XVI appeared like a shy person although with a solid education; he talked english fluenty, he knew some words of italian, he had studied history, french literature, but the couple started to develop at long a problem: they could not consum the wedding.
Marie-Antoinette didn't love her husband but proved for him a profound friendship and respect. It was impossible in the past an union of love, in particular between princes and princesses. Theese marriages were created for cementing alliances, trying to avoid wars and also for keeping the various countries more strong.
On 26 april 1774 Louis XV fell sick. It's smallpox. It is a straining moment this one for the french monarchy. Everyone guessed that the king wouldn't have passed this moment. Isolated in other branches of the castle of Versailles for avoid smallpox when the king died, they said: « Mon Dieu protégez-nous, nous sommes trop jeunes pour régner ! » "God, protect us, we are too young for this role."
Louis XVI is still too shy, and Marie-Antoinette lives inebriated of freedom!
Louis XVI is too weak for asking to his wife to be more moderated; after all he is happy of making her happy realizing every desire; parties and whatever she would have wanted.
Le Petit Trianon, donated by the king to his wife becomes her personal kingdom.
Marie-Antoinette doesn't develop any kind of political ambition, she wants just to be loved, admired by everyone. The most conservative ones starts to criticizing Marie-Antoinette and her behavior.
Of course the life-style started by Marie-Antoinette means also spending a lot of public money, and France when Louis XVI become king lives in great sufferance; common people are starved. Marie-Antoinette becomes the lady more well-dressed of the entire France; she wants to be a desiderable woman.
Unfortunately Marie-Antoinette because, after all, pure as said once the brothers Goncourt, and ingenuous, will fall in the trap of some manipulative people like De Benseval and later madame De Polignac. Polignac will manipulate poor Marie-Antoinette in many different ways.
Marie-Therese, the mother of Marie-Antoinette is always more worried. What she hears are news of a queen all taken by beautiful dresses, dances, false ladies close to her just for opportunity, an existence, that one spent by Marie-Antoinette avoided by her severe mother.
She wrote to her daughter in a worried letter:
"We are in this world for making some good to the other ones. Your mark is one of the most essentials. We are not people that must live for themselves, or just for entertaining ourselves, but for the acquisition of Heaven, where everythings tends, and that it is not gratis: it must be earned."
Marie Antoinette couldn't think for once at the pleasures of Heaven, just at the most material ones.
Polignac becomes for Marie-Antoinette her biggest confident, and it was pretty dangerous to her. She opened to the friend and lady of company her thoughts, her hopes, she talked of her problems with the king not understanding that the other one had other purposes.
In the while Joseph one of his siblings affords to Paris for meeting again his sister and the french royal family. He finds a beautiful environment and Marie-Antoinette is visibly happy to see again someone of her old family. Joseph will also investigate the problem of Louis XVI and later Marie-Antoinette will communicate to the mother that the wedding was consummed and in 1778 they waited their first baby.
Fersen arrived in the existence of Marie Antoinette on January 30 1774. Oh, Axel Von Fersen was bewitched by Marie Antoinette. He returned to Sweden for four years never forgetting her and always asking to himself if Maria-Antoinette remembered him.
In august 25th that Marie-Antoinette re-meet again the stunningly beautiful Axel Von Fersen.
She remembered him! She had previously met him 4 years before! What a joy! to see him again!
Marie-Antoinette's first baby was a daughter called Marie-Therese and life soon returned to the normality.
A normality, this time, involving Fersen as well.
The queen is fatally attracted by him but the man is scared of a potential relationship and what it would mean to him if discovered.
Marie-Antoinette talks of this problem with Polignac the most intriguing lady existing in the world. Very soon everyone knew that Marie-Antoinette was in love for Fersen. In the while Fersen leaves for join the American expedition and war.
The book illustrates very well also the policy of that decades, the european equilibrisms, the USA but also the family Fersen, his studies, his trips, his girlfriends.
When they are not together and Fersen somewhere else, he will write letters addressed at a certain Josephine...
Of course everyone knew the affaire between Marie-Antoinette and Axel von Fersen. The second child a son, born on 1785, maybe was the son of Fersen, people whispered insistently.
Was this one the son of Fersen? Marie-Antoinette betrayed the King and the monarchy? It's not impossible to exclude this option.
What did Fersen write to the Queen? The most diversified topics, from foreign policy to light subects, declaring his immense love for her.
At the same time Marie-Antoinette's reputation is completely ruined by the so-called scandal of the collier; the queen didn't know anything of this story, but it was organized pretty well. The cardinal of Rohan didn't know what he was doing, when "bought" this jewel for Marie-Antoinette as if the transition needed also the role of an important and eminent man of the church. Marie-Antoinette was scandalized. De La Motte was an ambitous girl in grade of cheating at several levels the poor cardinal.
During this storm, at some point, the King discovers the love letters of Marie-Antoinette and Von Fersen, but he loves her and he can't help himself.
The two lovers starts to be more prudents with their correspondence.
We are close to the end. The convocation of the États généraux means the end of the monarchy and the beginning of the Revolution.
When the Revolution starts, the royal family is confined at Le Tuleries. Under many ways Fersen has written the destiny of the royal family, asking them to try to escape from there; the royal family will be later captured at Varennes.
Marie-Antoinette in 1792 in his letters to Fersen " Adieu, le plus aimé des hommes. Calmezvous si vous pouvez, ménagezvous pour moi. Je ne pourrai plus
vous écrire, mais rien dans le monde ne peut m’empêcher de vous adorer." She speaks at Fersen as the most loved man, but also of the danger of keeping alive this correspondence; she adds that she wouldn't want to write him anymore but no one in the world can prevent me from adoring you."
Marie Antoinette speaks like a lover, not like a close friend.
Few days after the death of Marie-Antoinette Fersen writes in his journal: « Ce jour était un jour mémorable et terrible pour moi, c’est celui où j’ai perdu la personne qui m’aimait le
plus au monde et qui m’aimait véritablement. Je pleurerai sa perte toute ma vie et je sens que tout mon sentiment pour El. ne peut me faire oublier tout ce que j’ai perdu. »
Fersen is desperate. Marie Antoinette was the only person who had loved him the most and realistically. Fersen feels that he has lost everything and understands that "All my feelings for her can't let me forget what I have lost forever."
The rest of his existence, with some sporadic female companionships never definitives, was spent by the aristocrat remembering her only love.
Fersen died atrociously in his country, in 1810.
Beautiful book, this love-story remains one of the saddest ones presenting us by History, but it is put in a human perspectives; after all Marie-Antoinette wasn't in love with her husband. She hadn't choosen of marrying him; maybe she didn't want to be a queen although I guess she loved her priviledged role and the endless possibilities of having fun in many different ways; with Fersen she found a bit of happiness.
Hoghly recommended.
I thank so much Editions Tallandier for the copy of this book.
Anna Maria Polidori
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