Why is Marie Antoinette so controversial? - Carolyn Harris

譯者: 麗玲 辛 審譯者: Helen Chang

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

肅靜！肅靜！誰是今天的被告？ 看起來倒很花俏。

Indeed, Your Honor.

的確如此，法官大人。

This is Marie Antoinette, the Queen of France

這就是法國王后瑪麗·安東妮，

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

在平民飢餓之際，她生活奢華， 因而臭名昭著。

That is sensationalist slander.

那是聳人聽聞的誹謗。

Marie Antoinette had little power over her circumstances

瑪麗·安東特對自己的處境 幾乎無能為力，

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

她短暫的一生只是 在動蕩的異國掙扎求生。

You mean she wasn't French?

你是說她不是法國人？

That’s right, Your Honor.

沒錯，法官大人。

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

她出生於 1755 年，是哈布斯堡王朝 女大公，原名瑪麗亞·安東妮婭。

After two of her older sisters passed away,

在她的兩個姐姐去世後，

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

她成為與法國王位繼承人 路易·奧古斯特政治聯姻的唯一選擇。

heir to the French throne.

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

基本上，為了確保奧地利 和法國之間的和平，她成為犧牲品。

all at the age of 14.

而她當時只有 14 歲。

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

1774 年她丈夫加冕為國王時， 她倒是已經適應了這種「犧牲」。

when her husband was crowned king.

She lived a life of luxury, wearing elaborate headdresses,

她享受奢華的生活，戴著精緻的頭飾，

importing foreign fabrics—

進口外國布料——

she even had her own private chateau near Versailles!

她甚至在凡爾賽宮附近 擁有自己的私人城堡！

Meanwhile, France was in an economic tailspin.

與此同時，法國經濟陷入困境。

Bad harvests resulted in mass food shortages,

歉收導致大規模糧食短缺，

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

工資下降，生活成本飆升。

Marie Antoinette’s expensive tastes were completely insensitive

瑪麗·安東妮昂貴的品味 對她臣民的困境完全漠不關心。

to the plight of her subjects.

She was the Queen!

她是王后！

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

如果她不顯得光彩照人， 她就會受到批評。

Besides, she sometimes used her image for good.

而且有時候她會利用 自己的形象做些善事。

After convincing the King to be vaccinated against smallpox,

在說服國王接種天花疫苗後，

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

她委託製作一個特別的頭飾， 讓接種疫苗變得時尚。

She also used her influence to appoint unqualified friends and admirers

不過，她也利用自己的影響力任命 不稱職的友人和仰慕者擔任重要職務。

to important posts.

Even more disastrous, she encouraged the King to get involved

更糟糕的是，她鼓勵國王介入美國革命，

in the American Revolution,

a conflict that cost France 1.5 billion francs.

這場戰爭讓法國損失了 15 億法郎。

Objection!

異議！

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

王后當時對丈夫的政治決策影響甚微。

at that time.

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

此外，法國的金融危機更多是起因於

outdated tax system and lack of an effective central bank.

該國過時的稅制 和缺乏有效的中央銀行。

How so?

怎麼說？

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

法國的貴族和教士享有眾多稅收豁免，

peasants often paid more than half their income in taxes.

而農民往往要支付 超過一半的收入作為稅金。

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

早在王后到來之前， 這個制度就讓法國負債累累。

Her personal expenses were merely a scapegoat

她的個人開支只是幾十年來 財務失職的代罪羔羊。

for decades of financial negligence.

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

這並沒有改變瑪麗王后在民眾挨餓時 用稅款揮霍奢侈品的事實！

while the masses starved!

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

她對此毫不在意，甚至當她聽說 人們買不起麵包時，

she recommended they eat cake instead.

她建議他們改吃蛋糕。

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

這幾乎可以肯定是王后的敵人捏造的。

In fact, Marie Antoinette frequently engaged in charity work

事實上，瑪麗·安東妮常投入 聚焦解決貧困問題的慈善工作。

focused on addressing poverty.

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

無情王后的名聲完全來自謠言和誹謗。

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

甚至對她最著名的指控 也是個徹頭徹尾的騙局。

Pardon?

什麼意思？

In 1784, a thief forged fake letters from the Queen

1784 年，一名小偷 偽造王后的假信，

to purchase an outrageously expensive diamond necklace.

購買一條貴得離譜的鑽石項鍊。

The truth came out eventually,

真相最終水落石出，

but the public already saw her as a wasteful spendthrift.

但公眾已經將她視為揮霍無度的象徵。

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

其實，真正搞砸 法國財政的是她的丈夫。

On that, we agree.

這一點，我們同意。

Louis XVI was an incompetent king.

路易十六是一位無能的國王。

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

即使革命開始，他大部分的權力 被新成立的國民議會奪走，

to the newly formed National Assembly,

he refused to yield control.

他也拒絕放棄控制權。

Louis vetoed numerous pieces of legislation—

路易十六否決了多項立法——

and he was supported by his conservative Queen.

而保守派的王后支持他。

To a point.

在某種程度上。

Marie Antoinette believed in the divine right of kings,

瑪麗·安東妮相信君權神授，

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

但儘管個人有所保留， 她還是嘗試與改革者合作。

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

雖然她得到的回報是謊稱 她與這些人有染的虛假報告。

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

再多的慈善工作也無法抵擋 這種如雪崩般的誹謗。

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

革命者還阻止國王的家人離開巴黎——

how could she negotiate with people keeping her prisoner?

她怎麼可能和囚禁她的人談判呢？

Well, they were right to do so!

嗯，他們這樣做是對的！

In 1791, the royal couple tried fleeing to Austria

1791 年，這對皇室夫婦 試圖逃往奧地利

to gather support and regain power.

以尋求支持並奪回權力。

Even after they were caught,

甚至在被捕之後，

the King and Queen continued to pass military secrets

國王和王后仍繼續向他們的 奧地利聯繫人傳遞軍事機密。

to their Austrian contacts.

Isn't that treason?

這是叛國行為吧？

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

當然，路易十六因此被處決， 同時還面臨其他 32 項指控。

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

即使你認為國王被處決是公正的，

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

也無法辯解新政府 對待瑪麗·安東妮的方式。

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

她與兒子分開，關在 一個沒有隱私的牢房裡。

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

負責起訴王后的法庭 並沒有她叛國的證據，

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

所以他們用毫無根據的 亂倫和放蕩指控來詆毀她。

Yet she maintained composure until the very end.

但她直到最後都保持鎮靜。

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

王后最後的話是向她的劊子手道歉，

for stepping on his foot.

因為她踩了他的腳。

However refined she may have been,

無論她多麼優雅，

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

瑪麗·安東妮會為了 掌握權力，背叛她的國家。

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

無論生或死，她都是一個象徵， 代表了腐敗君主制度的所有問題。

with the decadent monarchy.

A convenient symbol—

這只是個省事的象徵，

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

也是公眾慣用自身的幻想和挫敗感 來抹黑傑出女性的一個例子。

with their own fantasies and frustrations.

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

所以你的意思是她有罪 只是因為她當了王后？

Should monarchs be judged by their personal qualities

君主應該以個人品德

or the historical role they occupied?

還是歷史地位來評判？

And can even the powerful be victims of circumstance?

即使是有權勢的人也可能 成為大環境的受害者？

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

這些是我們在審判歷史時面臨的問題。