Tea at Trianon: Was Louis XVI Autistic?

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Was Louis XVI Autistic?

The claim that Louis XVI may have had Asperger's Syndrome is based solely upon how he was portrayed in the Coppola film. I do not know enough about Asperger's to say. I think that Louis' shyness was due mostly to his upbringing and the events of his childhood rather than to a neurological problem. However, it is interesting to reflect upon. Share

10 comments:

Alexandra said...: I agree. I think Autism is the new diagnosis de jour, just as ADD was in the 70's and 80's.; October 24, 2010 at 5:09:00 PM EDT
May said...: His early experiences doubtless played a role, but it must also have been something in his temperament (though not necessarily autism). A different personality might have reacted differently to the same circumstances. His daughter was reserved, too, and I doubt that this was solely a result of her traumas. I suspect it was partly her natural disposition, which may have been inherited from her father.

Perhaps there is also a problem of standards? The King was not the perfect, suave Versailles courtier, but how awkward would he seem to us? It is hard to say.; October 24, 2010 at 5:13:00 PM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: Alexandra, so true.

Yes, Matterhorn, I think we clumsy folk of the 21st century have little or no idea of the level of refinement demanded by court life. To us, Louis XVI would seem a perfect gentleman, I am sure.; October 24, 2010 at 5:32:00 PM EDT
Nancy Reyes said...: I agree with Alexandra. It's more "pop psychology".

I saw it in my practice, when obviously retarded children came to be treated, and the parents insisted they were merely "autistic".

Now they insist being shy is autistic, or being good at math and computers but shunning parties means you're autistic, or being socially inept is autistic. By mixing the brain damaged with the rich and successful geeks, it allows parent who have to cope some hope, which alas is probably wrong.

As for "treatment", that's bull. True brain damage behavior can be helped by various medicines (e.g. explosive syndrome with anticonvulsants, true ADD with stimulants) but by putting all these various problems into the same "pot", you get more confusion than help. It's like the old days, when post partum depression, bipolar disease, frontal lobe syndrome and schizophrenia were called "schizophrenia" and treated with (of all things) either lobotomy or psychotherapy (neither of which don't work).

You need to diagnose the real problem, not make up a disease, dilute the symptoms to include half the population (to raise money) and then say X is the treatment.

But the "good news" is that unlike the 1950's, we don't blame autism on "cold mothers". So there is some progress.; October 24, 2010 at 6:55:00 PM EDT
Unknown said...: Very interesting!; October 24, 2010 at 7:26:00 PM EDT
Kaitlyn said...: Agreed! He was not a dandy and was therefore considered uncouth and awkward but perhaps this was not actually so.; October 24, 2014 at 6:30:00 PM EDT
Kaitlyn said...: Absolutely! If he would have had this disorder, then there's nothing wrong with that. But I'm not sure and there's way no way of diagnosing it during his time. People didn't understand disabilities.; October 24, 2014 at 6:38:00 PM EDT
Joshua David said...: After reading Timothy Tackett's "When the King Took Flight" I was instantly intrigued by his detailed description of Louis' personality. His social awkwardness, relative to his predecessors, combined with his hightened intelligence, obvious compulsive behavior to record everthing, obsession with hunting, anxiety issues, slightly dopey appearance, etc stuck out to me as a pre-med student. I immediately came to the conclusion that he might have had a form of Autism that would not have been diagnosed in the 18th century. After researching his symptoms it became airly evident that Asperger's syndrome. Obviously there is no way o knowing for sure, but rom what we know about him it's highly probable.; January 22, 2015 at 1:31:00 AM EST
elena maria vidal said...: I think you are absolutely right, Joshua. I think he had Asperger's.; January 22, 2015 at 6:32:00 AM EST
Petal said...: Wtf as someone with ASD, even though this comment is 11 years old, I'm offended.; October 31, 2021 at 1:31:00 PM EDT