Why is Marie Antoinette so controversial? - Carolyn Harris

翻译人员: Jacky He 校对人员: Sue Lu

Order! Order! Who’s the defendant today? Looks pretty fancy.

秩序！秩序！今天的被告是谁？ 看起来挺精致。

Indeed, Your Honor.

确实如此，法官大人。

This is Marie Antoinette, the Queen of France

这是玛丽·安托瓦内特，法国女王，

who was notorious for living in opulence while the peasants starved.

由于生活奢华却使农民挨饿而臭名昭著。

That is sensationalist slander.

这是夸大其词的诽谤。

Marie Antoinette had little power over her circumstances

玛丽·安托瓦内特无力控制她的处境，

and spent her brief life trying to survive in a turbulent, foreign country.

短暂的一生中试图在动荡的异国生存。

You mean she wasn't French?

你意思是她不是法国人？

That’s right, Your Honor.

是的，法官大人。

She was born in 1755 as the Hapsburg Archduchess Maria Antonia.

她在 1755 年以哈布斯堡王朝 女大公玛丽亚·安东尼娅的身份出生。

After two of her older sisters passed away,

在她的两个姐姐去世之后，

she became the only choice for a political marriage to Louis-August,

她成为与路易·奥古斯特 (Louis-August)， 法国皇位继承人

heir to the French throne.

政治联姻的唯一选择。

Essentially, she was sacrificed to secure peace between Austria and France,

实际上，她被牺牲掉以维护 奥地利和法国之间的和平，

all at the age of 14.

那时年仅 14 岁芳龄。

She seemed to have had adjusted to this “sacrifice” by 1774

到 1774 她似乎已适应了这个“牺牲”，

when her husband was crowned king.

当时她的丈夫加冕为国王。

She lived a life of luxury, wearing elaborate headdresses,

她过着奢华生活，戴着精致头饰，

importing foreign fabrics—

进口国外布料——

she even had her own private chateau near Versailles!

她甚至拥有在凡尔赛附近的私人城堡！

Meanwhile, France was in an economic tailspin.

与此同时，法国经济陷入混乱。

Bad harvests resulted in mass food shortages,

农作物欠收导致了食物短缺，

wages were falling, and the cost of living had skyrocketed.

工资下降，生活成本飙升。

Marie Antoinette’s expensive tastes were completely insensitive

玛丽·安托瓦内特的巨额花费

to the plight of her subjects.

完全不顾及她臣民的困境。

She was the Queen!

她是女王！

If she hadn’t looked glamorous, she would have been criticized.

她不保持外表华丽，便会受到批评。

Besides, she sometimes used her image for good.

除此之外，她利用自己的形象做好事。

After convincing the King to be vaccinated against smallpox,

在说服国王接种天花疫苗后，

she commissioned a special headdress to make the treatment fashionable for all.

她定制了特殊头饰让这个疗法风靡全国。

She also used her influence to appoint unqualified friends and admirers

她还利用自己的影响力 把不合格的朋友和效忠者

to important posts.

任命至重要的职位。

Even more disastrous, she encouraged the King to get involved

更加灾难性的，她怂恿国王介入

in the American Revolution,

美国独立战争，

a conflict that cost France 1.5 billion francs.

这让法国承受了 15 亿法郎的开销。

Objection!

异议！

The Queen had very little influence over her husband’s political decisions

女王当时无力影响她丈夫的政治决策。

at that time.

Besides, France’s financial crisis was much more related to the country’s

此外，法国的金融危机应该归因于

outdated tax system and lack of an effective central bank.

过时的税收系统及缺乏有效的中央银行。

How so?

这是怎么回事？

While France's nobility and clergy had numerous tax exemptions,

法国的贵族与神职人员 享受多项免税政策，

peasants often paid more than half their income in taxes.

但农民往往需将收入超半成纳税。

This system buried France in debt long before the Queen's arrival.

早在女王抵达法国之前， 这一系统已使法国经济衰败。

Her personal expenses were merely a scapegoat

她的个人开支不过是

数十年经济疏忽的替罪羊。

for decades of financial negligence.

That doesn’t change that Marie Antoinette spent tax money on luxuries

这改变不了玛丽·安托瓦内特 将税务所得用于奢侈品的事实，

while the masses starved!

还是当群众挨饿的时候！

She was so oblivious that when she heard people couldn’t afford bread,

她对现实一无所知， 在听到人们买不起面包后，

she recommended they eat cake instead.

建议他们吃蛋糕。

This is almost certainly a fabrication attributed to the Queen by her enemies.

这几乎肯定是她反对者的杜撰。

In fact, Marie Antoinette frequently engaged in charity work

玛丽·安托瓦内特常投身慈善事业，

focused on addressing poverty.

着力解决贫困问题。

Her reputation as a heartless queen was based on rumors and slander.

她无情女王的名声多是基于谣言诽谤。

Even the most famous case against her was a complete fraud.

打击她的最著名案件也是彻底的骗局。

Pardon?

是这样的吗？

In 1784, a thief forged fake letters from the Queen

1784年，一位小偷伪造女王的信件，

to purchase an outrageously expensive diamond necklace.

以购买一件价格非凡的钻石项链。

The truth came out eventually,

后来真相大白，

but the public already saw her as a wasteful spendthrift.

但公众已经认为她是一个大肆挥霍的人。

Meanwhile, it's really her husband who ruined France's finances.

其实是她的丈夫摧毁了法国的经济。

On that, we agree.

这是我们公认的。

Louis XVI was an incompetent king.

路易十六是一个无能的国王。

Even after the revolution began and he lost much of his power

即使在革命开始后他的许多权力交给了

to the newly formed National Assembly,

新组建的国民议会，

he refused to yield control.

他拒绝放弃控制权。

Louis vetoed numerous pieces of legislation—

路易斯否决了许多项立法草案——

and he was supported by his conservative Queen.

也得到他保守女王的支持。

To a point.

一定程度上，

Marie Antoinette believed in the divine right of kings,

玛丽·安托瓦内特相信国王的神圣权利，

but despite personal reservations, she tried to work with reformers.

尽管态度谨慎，她仍尝试与改革者合作。

Though all she got in return were false reports that she was sleeping with them.

但结果只有她与他们同床的假消息。

No amount of charity work could counter this avalanche of slander.

再多慈善工作也难抵御铺天盖地的诽谤。

The revolutionaries also prevented the King’s family from leaving Paris—

改革派也阻止了国王的家人离开巴黎——

how could she negotiate with people keeping her prisoner?

她怎能与囚禁她的人谈判？

Well, they were right to do so!

他们这样做是有依据的！

In 1791, the royal couple tried fleeing to Austria

1791 年，皇室夫妇尝试逃往奥地利，

to gather support and regain power.

寻求支持以重获权力。

Even after they were caught,

即便他们被抓以后，

the King and Queen continued to pass military secrets

国王和王后继续向他们的奥地利联系人

to their Austrian contacts.

送去军事机密。

Isn't that treason?

这不是叛国吗？

Certainly, and Louis was executed for it, alongside 32 other charges.

当然，路易斯也因此被处决， 另受到其他 32 项指控。

Even if you believe the King's execution was just,

即使你相信国王的处决是合情理的，

there's no excuse for how the new government treated Marie Antoinette.

新政府没有借口如此对待安托瓦内特。

She was separated from her son and kept in a cell with no privacy.

她被和儿子分开，关在无隐私的牢房。

The tribunal in charge of prosecuting the Queen had no proof of her treason,

负责起诉女王的法庭缺乏她叛国的证据，

so they denigrated her with baseless accusations of incest and orgies.

于是毫无根据地指控她乱伦纵欲。

Yet she maintained composure until the very end.

但她仍不失尊严，直到最后。

The Queen’s final words were an apology to her executioner

女王的遗言是向她刽子手的致歉，

for stepping on his foot.

因为踩到了他的脚。

However refined she may have been,

无论她多么高雅，

Marie Antoinette was willing to betray her country to stay in power.

她宁愿背叛国家以继续掌权。

In life and death, she remains a symbol of everything wrong

无论生与死，她仍然象征着

with the decadent monarchy.

腐败君主制的一切糟粕。

A convenient symbol—

一个方便的象征——

and an example of the public’s appetite for smearing prominent women

体现了公众喜欢抹黑杰出女性，

with their own fantasies and frustrations.

用的是他们自己的幻想和挫败感。

So what you’re saying is she was guilty of being Queen?

所以她有罪是因为当了女王吗？

Should monarchs be judged by their personal qualities

对君主的评价应该基于个人品质

or the historical role they occupied?

还是他们扮演的历史角色？

And can even the powerful be victims of circumstance?

难道强者在特定时机也会成为受害人？

These are the questions that arise when we put history on trial.

这些都是审判决历史时出现的问题。