The Fersen Myth Revisited

Occasionally I receive anonymous, pseudonymous comments asserting that I am projecting my own religious beliefs upon Marie-Antoinette, which is why (it is claimed) that I refuse to acknowledge her "affair" with Count Fersen. As I have written before, just because I do not believe that there is any substantial evidence that Marie-Antoinette had an affair with Count Fersen, does not mean that I believe she was the Little Flower. She went overboard with her gambling and had many frivolities, especially as a young girl. While to all appearances she followed the tenets of her creed, partaking of the sacraments and giving generously to the poor, it was not until after her baby Sophie died in 1787 that she gradually became more devout, as biographers Desmond Seward and Jean Chalon have written.

The death of her seven year old son in 1789 and the disasters of the Revolution which followed made the Queen turn more and more to her Faith for consolation. She would not confess to a juring priest, demonstrating her loyalty to the papal authority. There is evidence that she made every effort to prepare to die a holy death. It is one of the intriguing aspects of her character that, in spite of many frailties, she endured extraordinary sufferings with fortitude and grace. As Maxime de la Rocheterie said: "She was...not a saint...until she became a martyr."

I believe that Marie-Antoinette and Fersen were not lovers because the reliable historical evidence indicates otherwise. When testimony of extant letters and diaries demonstrates that Marie-Antoinette was devoted to her family, and that she stayed at her husband's side at the cost of her own life, then she should be given the benefit of the doubt. I am not alone in questioning the historicity of the alleged affair; there have been many not particularly religious scholars and authors who have believed that the Queen was faithful to her husband. I know of Jewish historians who dispute the claim that there was an affair with Fersen. I know some atheists, too, who strongly object to the very idea as a romantic absurdity. The credence given to such a story has nothing to do with one's religion but with how carefully one sifts the data.

Since I am accused of allowing my beliefs to blind me to the fact of historical love affairs, then I must acknowledge the times I have written about various femmes fatales. I admire Eleanor of Aquitaine a great deal. I also find Louise de La Vallière, Catherine II, Emma Hamilton, and Germaine de Staël to be fascinating women, despite the fact that they all had lovers outside of marriage. It is not proven that Marie-Antoinette ever did.

As a friend wrote to me the other day: "I've come to the belief that when someone argues to the person rather than to the argument it raises at least the suspicion that their argument is weak." Good point. Share