Reflections on the Revolution in France

by

Edmund Burke

Queen Marie Antoinette of France Character Analysis

Marie Antoinette (1755–1793) was queen of France from 1774–1792. She was the wife of King Louis XVI of France. She was the last queen of France before the monarchy was abolished in the French Revolution; like her husband, Marie Antionette was executed by guillotine in 1793. Burke vividly describes the queen’s capture following the March on Versailles in a famous passage in Reflections.

Queen Marie Antoinette of France Quotes in Reflections on the Revolution in France

The Reflections on the Revolution in France quotes below are all either spoken by Queen Marie Antoinette of France or refer to Queen Marie Antoinette of France. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Section 8 Quotes

History will record, that on the morning of the 6th of October 1789, the king and queen of France, after a day of confusion, alarm, dismay, and slaughter, lay down, under the pledged security of public faith, to indulge nature in a few hours of respite, and troubled melancholy repose. From this sleep the queen was first startled by the voice of the centinel at her door, who cried out to her, to save herself by flight - that this was the last proof of fidelity he could give — that they were upon him, and he was dead. Instantly he was cut down. A band of cruel ruffians and assassins, reeking with his blood, rushed into the chamber of the queen, and pierced with an hundred strokes of bayonets and poniards the bed, from whence this persecuted woman had but just had time to fly almost naked, and through ways unknown to the murderers had escaped to seek refuge at the feet of a king and husband, not secure of his own life for a moment.

Related Characters: Edmund Burke (speaker), King Louis XVI of France, Queen Marie Antoinette of France
Page Number: 72
Explanation and Analysis:
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Reflections on the Revolution in France PDF

Queen Marie Antoinette of France Quotes in Reflections on the Revolution in France

The Reflections on the Revolution in France quotes below are all either spoken by Queen Marie Antoinette of France or refer to Queen Marie Antoinette of France. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
The Use and Abuse of History Theme Icon
).
Section 8 Quotes

History will record, that on the morning of the 6th of October 1789, the king and queen of France, after a day of confusion, alarm, dismay, and slaughter, lay down, under the pledged security of public faith, to indulge nature in a few hours of respite, and troubled melancholy repose. From this sleep the queen was first startled by the voice of the centinel at her door, who cried out to her, to save herself by flight - that this was the last proof of fidelity he could give — that they were upon him, and he was dead. Instantly he was cut down. A band of cruel ruffians and assassins, reeking with his blood, rushed into the chamber of the queen, and pierced with an hundred strokes of bayonets and poniards the bed, from whence this persecuted woman had but just had time to fly almost naked, and through ways unknown to the murderers had escaped to seek refuge at the feet of a king and husband, not secure of his own life for a moment.

Related Characters: Edmund Burke (speaker), King Louis XVI of France, Queen Marie Antoinette of France
Page Number: 72
Explanation and Analysis: