Marie Antoinette is often associated with uttering the phrase "let them eat cake", after
having learned that the French peasants were starving from famine. The "cake" that is
associated with the phrase is called brioche which is a dough that is enriched with butter
and eggs, making it more expensive than traditional bread. However, there is no
historical evidence that she ever spoke the infamous phrase, even though she still often
gets falsely labeled as having done so.
a. Why do you suppose the rumor of Marie Antoinette having said "let them eat
cake" was able to spread so easily?
b. In what ways would the rumor of her having said the phrase helped the
revolution against the French monarchy?
c. What was the phrase supposed to show about Marie Antoinette?
