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Rose of Versailles: By Episode History Guide

1. Oscar, The Destiny of the Rose
General Jarjayes was a real person. His wife was a waiting-woman for Marie Antoinette, and during the Revolution, he was one of the trusted people left who stood by the Royal Family. Whether the general had any daughters, I have yet to read. Oscar Francois, Andre, and Gerodere are all fictional.

The background given that France and Austria wanted to make an alliance and seal it with a wedding between Louis-Auguste and Marie Antoinette is true. Though it is not mentioned in the anime, Marie's name was really Maria Antonia Josepha but changed to Marie Antoinette for the marriage and her new status as Queen of France. She was the youngest daughter of Maria Theresa, Empress of Austria. The Empress said of her daughter that in her character she had frivolity and obstinancy when it came to following her own will. But the Empress loved her and did her best to instill high morals in all her children. (These things are shown in the next episode in scenes between Maria Theresa and her daughter).

2. Fly! An Austrian Butterfly
1770, Antoinette to be met before coming into France at a neutral meeting spot on the Rhine. This is factual. The scene where Marie is told to remove her dress and jewelry on entering France seems to be contested. According to the author Castelot, Mme Campan and historians after her write that Marie was stripped of her Austrian clothing and accessories, and not allowed to retain even a ribbon on entering France. In the anime, Marie is told on arrival that she is to remove her dress, and not even retain a thread of what she wore from Austria; and dress in a gown of France. Castelot says that by this time, that custom had actually been abandoned, and that instead Marie and her ladies in waiting simply changed into ceremonial dress they brought from Vienna. Marie even kept her maiden jewelry. (In the episode, Marie becomes especially upset at the thought of having to remove the ring her mother gave her).

Yes, Ducs d'Orleans was a real person (he was a noble of the French court and later played a part at the beginning of the Revolution). But the whole kidnapping plot of Antoinette is fictional. There was no trouble when the young Marie arrived in France, and she did not enter the court in the dress of a servant.

Fersen is introduced at the end of this episode, but more on him later.

3. A Spark in Versailles
May 16, 1770, Marie and Louis are married at Versailles. The bride was but 14 years old. In the episode, when Marie signs her name in the marriage register, she makes a blot. This did happen, but unlike the anime where it is taken as an ill omen, nothing was thought of it.

In this episode Marie told that she is the highest ranking woman in France, and that no woman of lower rank may address a woman of higher rank first, so she will have to address all the ladies of Court before they may speak to her. Later she is among the Court at Versailles and sees Mme du Barry for the first time and thinks her arrogant and somehow vulgar so ignores her. She asks Oscar who the woman is and Oscar replies that she is someone Marie does not want to associate with; her aunts take her aside after and tell Marie that du Barry is the mistress of the King, born a commoner and a prostitute. Marie is shocked and thinks how women in her country would be whipped then sent to a reformatory for such behavior. They continue that she poisoned Count du Barry to gain his money and name, then came to Court as a Countess and seduced the King with her natural beauty. Marie decides to have nothing to do with her and will not speak to her, and so the feud between them begins.

Du Barry was indeed born a commoner in the village of Vaucouleurs as Marie Jeanne Becu. Her mother is known, but her father's identity was never revealed. At 7 she was taught in the Convent of St. Anne, and kept a special place for the nuns and priests, even sheltering them later in the Revolution. After leaving the Convent, she had a succession of employers and men who kept her, which led eventually to her serving Jean du Barry. Years later the King saw her in the Palace and struck by her beauty and playfulness, the King made arrangements with du Barry for her. For appearances sake she needed to be wed, so she was married to Comte Guillaume du Barry. A pension was arranged for him, and Jeanne left and went on to become the King's mistress.

While in the anime, Marie instantly dislikes du Barry, this was not historically the case. Marie did not know right away about Jeanne's true reason for being at court, and at a dinner on first seeing her seems to have thought du Barry pretty. But when Marie did find out she indeed refused to speak to du Barry and vowed to do what was correct, and one incident after another began a dispute between the women.

4. A Rose, Wine, and Conspiracy...
Whether Mme Jarjayes' duty of lady in waiting resulted from the dispute between du Barry and Antoinette, I do not know, or when she actually became Marie's waiting-woman. But as before mentioned, Mme Jarjayes did indeed work under the Queen. Count Mercy d'Argentau who is introduced in this episode is also a real person and indeed did serve as Austrian ambassador at Versailles and serve as a mentor for Antoinette. He also did indeed write frequently home to Maria Theresa on her daughter's decisions and behavior.

When Count Mercy asks about Marie's husband she replies he's busy making locks. Louis did in fact enjoy lockmaking as a hobby.

The concern of the break of the treaty between Austria and France was a real one because of Marie and du Barry's dispute. And indeed there was growing pressure from both in Court and home in Austria for Marie to acknowledge du Barry.

5. Tears With Dignity
The two important historical scenes in this episode involve Marie's addressing du Barry. Mercy did go to Antoinette and persuade her to speak but once to du Barry for the sake of the Franco-Austrian alliance. The plan is thwarted the first time just as it happens in the anime. At a party (after a play) Marie made her tour of the room, addressing each noble in turn, but when she came to du Barry and was about to speak, Madame Adelaide came forward and took the young queen-to-be away, saying it was time to leave and they must go wait for the King. The second attempt is successful as shown in the anime. On January 1, 1772 at a gathering of nobles Antoinette finally addressed du Barry for the first and only time, "There are a great many people at Versailles today."

6. A Silk Dress and a Rough Dress
Jeanne and Rosalie were both real people, though they were not really sisters, nor were they even related. Jeanne de St.-Remy de Valois claimed to have a royal lineage, but due to her family losing their property, she was forced to street begging. More on Jeanne later in the Necklace Affair since that is what she is known for. And Rosalie's part will come with the Revolution. The great difference in living conditions between the nobles and many of the citizens was also true and the reason for the revolution that would result.

7. Who Wrote the Love Letter?
Durant says of Marie Antoinette: "...the most extravagant member of the court. Attached to an impotent husband, cheated of romance, indulging in no liasons, she amused herself, till 1778, with costly dresses, gems, and palaces, with operas, plays, and balls" (850). This is addressed at the opening of the episode. Louis-Auguste is engrossed in locksmithing and hunting, and we learn all this time they've been married Marie has slept alone.

Hans Axel von Fersen, the Swede, did meet Marie Antoinette at a masked ball (January of 1774). In the anime, she sees him across the room and already her heart aches; she goes out onto the balcony and Fersen finds her there and removes her mask and thinks her beautiful. Oscar addresses him and reveals Marie's identity, then escorts the Crown Princess home. Though they don't get a chance to dance in the anime, they did when they met historically at the masquerade. Unlike the anime where there seems to be a spark for their later infatuation with each other, there wasn't at the real meeting, though they did both enjoy their evening together.

The Comtesse de Noailles is named in this episode. She's seen frequently advising and waiting on Marie.

8. Oscar in My Heart
No notes as of yet.

9. The Sun Sets, The Sun Rises
In 1774 the King, Louis XV, is diagnosed with smallpox. Du Barry kept by his side as long as she could, but the King takes Communion and Confession and tells du Barry not to return to him. He died on May 10, 1774. Du Barry becomes a prisoner of the State and sent to the Abbey of Pont-aux-Dames. Afterwards, as in the anime, Antoinette and the 19 yr old Louis XVI hold to each other, and Louis asks God to protect them as they are too young to rule.

10. A Beautiful Fiend, Jeanne
Robespierre is a real person that is introduced in this episode, and as stated he will be an important leader in the Revolution. Nicolas de la Motte (Jeanne's future husband) and Cardinal Rohan, both historical figures are also introduced, but more on them when the Necklace Affair arises.

11. Fersen Departs for the Northland
As shown in this episode and the next, Antoinette's unhappiness was masked for a number of years by enjoying the pleasures of Court life and extravagent spending. And she also had a habit of spending and granting generously the wishes of her favorites as she tries to do for Oscar in this episode and later with Madame Polignac.

12. Oscar at the Duel at Dawn
No notes as of yet.

13. Please Respond, the Wind in Arras
Yolande de Polignac is introduced in this episode. Antoinette noticed Polignac when she sang at a concert, and touched by her tender voice and charm, determined to make the woman her friend. As becomes evident throughout the time we see Polignac, she used her new friendship with the Queen to her advantage. An example being she did indeed use the excuse of her family having not the fortune to keep up appearances to stay in the Court at the Queen's side, to which Antoinette (being fond of her friend) remedied the situation by providing whatever Mme Polignac wished.

14. The Secret of an Angel
No notes as of yet.

15. The Countess of Casino
The plot devised by Polignac of a fake pregnancy for the Queen is ficticious, though Antoinette did indeed have to worry about not producing an heir.

16. Mother's Name Is...
Rosalie's full name is Rosalie Lamorliere.

17. Now, the Time of Encounter
No notes as of yet.

18. Suddenly, Like Icarus
When Fersen and Antoinette realized they loved each other is debated, and how much of lovers they actually were. In the scene where Fersen honors Antoinette's wish to see him in his uniform of the Swedish Light Dragoon, he did indeed put it on for her, though unlike the series where he comes before her in the midst of a gathering and in the Versailles garden, he actually had come to her in uniform in her private apartments. This was the first time supposedly that she received him thus.

19. Farewell, My Sister
Two historical points are changed in this episode. First, Rosalie was not related to Polignac, and it's unknown if Rosalie even knew her. In the case of Charlotte's suicide, that didn't happen. Charlotte as an adolescent married Duc de Guiche in May 1780.

20. Fersen, A Farewell Rondeau
Fersen's feelings for Antoinette grew and so he decided to leave for America to fight in the War for Independence. In the anime, Fersen says farewell to Oscar but dares not do so to Antoinette. Though, in actuality he did take his leave of her. Appearing before the Queen, a witness said her eyes filled with tears. He actually made to leave France twice. The first time his departure was postponed, but he finally left in March of 1780 for America.

21. Black Roses Bloom at Night
Jeanne's scheme to have Cardinal Rohan meet a fake Queen in the Grove of Venus may look like one of the elements the writers made up for the anime, but nope, Jeanne really did lie to Rohan and arranged the whole thing. And on August 11, 1784 Rohan received a rose and letter from a poor girl named Nicole d'Oliva whom Jeanne dolled up to impersonate the Queen, and who was instructed only to say "You know what this means."

22. The Necklace Shines Ominously
Several tidbits to mention in this episode. First, the beginning of the Necklace Affair. Charles Bohmer and Paul Bassenge created an extravagent necklace for Mme du Barry that would have been bought by Louis XV. But since he died, and only a royal member would be able to afford it, they approached Antoinette who refused to purchase it. Jeanne once again set to scheming and came up with a plan to have a letter forged of the Queen's, and Rohan to be convinced to purchase the said necklace. He did, believing it was Antoinette's wish, and Jeanne's husband took the necklace to England where he sold it in pieces.

In April 1778 Antoinette announces her pregnancy to the King. The quote in the anime translation is very close to what the author Durant provides for Antoinette.
Anime: "I've come here to complain to Your Majesty about a vassal who audaciously kicked me in the stomach."
Durant: "Sire, I have come to complain that one of your subjects has been so bold as to kick me in the belly."

On November 29, 1780 Maria Theresa dies.

23. Cunning and Tough
In 1785 Rohan had bought the necklace, and in 1786 judgement was passed on all involved in the Necklace Affair. As shown in the anime, when Rohan brought the letters from the Queen before the King, the King knew them to be forgeries. In the end, Rohan was pronounced innocent, and Jeanne was whipped and branded with a V for the French word for thief, voleuse, and sentenced to life in prison.

24. Adieu, My Youth
This episode veers a bit from history. While in the anime, Jeanne is helped to escape and lives at the Monastery in Severne with her husband, and Jeanne writing her memoirs, actually Jeanne escaped prison and went to England where she met up with her husband and wrote an autobiography giving her side of the account. She died in 1791.

25. A Minuet of Unrequited Love
Fersen returned to France after the fighting in America ended, and committed himself to serve under the royal family.

26. I Want to See the Black Knight
No notes as of yet.

27. Even If I Lose the Light
No notes as of yet.

28. Andre, a Green Lemon
Crown Prince Joseph was sick with a fever often, grew thin, and was said to have a displaced vertebrae.

29. A Marionette Starting to Walk
No notes as of yet.

30. You are the Light, I am the Shadow
I don't know whether St. Just was as bloodthirsty as he is portrayed in the anime, but he was one of the followers of Robespierre, and would later be one of the advocates for the King's execution during the Revolution.

31. A Lilac Blooming in the Barracks
No notes as of yet.

32. The Prelude to the Storm
No notes as of yet.

33. A Funeral Bell Tolls at Midnight
The sick Dauphin, from spinal menigitis, on May 4, 1789 watched the Estates-General procession on its way to the church of Saint-Louis. As shown in the anime, the Third Estate wore black, and all the delegates carried candles.

For the King, the people applauded, but not for the Queen.

As in the anime, on June 2 the bell of Notre Dame was rung for the Dauphin, but at 1 in the morning on the 4th, he died.

34. The Tennis Court Oath
On June 20, 1789 the Tennis Court Oath is made, the delegates gathered together.

On June 22, the nobility and clergy were allowed to enter the hall through the main door, but the Third Estate members (the representatives for the commoners) were made to wait in the rain and mud, and to go in a side door instead. After, the King ordered that the three Estates meet and discuss amongst their separate groups, but no one moved.

35. Oscar Now Breaks Away
No notes as of yet.

36. The Watchward is Au Revoir
As happens in the anime, troops and regiments are summoned and they occupy Paris and Versailles. On July 11 Necker is dismissed, and from this and the fear that the German and Swiss guards will attack, the people take up arms.

37. The Night of Passionate Vows
The citizens are shown to be marching to Invalides to arm themselves. It's July 12, 1789 in the anime. Actually, according to Durant, the citizens went there on the 14th and then after when someone yelled "To the Bastille!" they went there after. The decision to march happens a bit different in the anime as well, since it happens not after Invalides but on the 14th when Bernard and everyone is gathered in Tuileries and the night before decide to storm the Bastille since the cannons there are now pointed at the people in Paris.

38. Before the Door of Destiny
At the Place Tuleries, the German troops and citizens did have a skirmish.

39. His Smile is Gone Forever!
As noted earlier, the attack on the Bastille happened because it was a symbol to the people of what they wanted to end, it had weapons and gunpowder inside they could use, and the cannons were now pointed to two quarters inside the city. So on the 14th the citizens decided to storm it.

40. Adieu, My Beloved Oscar
The Bastille is taken. An interesting note is that historically there actually was a radical French Guard that took sides with the revolutionaries and manned the cannons for them during the siege of the Bastille.

Later, Oct. 1, 1789, in pouring rain 6,000 people (mostly women) march on Versailles wanting the Queen's head because they were hungry and the food shortages were growing worse.

Fersen was the person who arranged for the Royal Family to escape from France. As in the anime, the King thanks him and bids him farewell part-way. But the family is caught at Varennes, and on the way back to Paris the Queen's hair has gone from blonde to completely white.

The end scene with Rosalie and Antoinette is a bit different than history. In the anime, she is the wife of Bernard Chatelet and while waiting on the Queen tells stories of Oscar to her, and the last thing Antoinette does is fashion a white rose from cosmetic papers in memory of her beloved friend and tells Rosalie to dye it the color Oscar liked. Historically, Rosalie was actually the prison governor's wife's kitchen maid, and she kept records of the Queen's last days. But the gift she gave Rosalie wasn't a white paper rose but a white ribbon. She said: "Rosalie, take this ribbon and keep it always in memory of me" (Castelot, 358).

End note on Bernard:
Bernard Chatelet's character is actually loosely based a bit on the historical person Camille Desmoulins. Camille did give speeches like the one after Necker's dismissal, calling the people to arms. Camille like Bernard was in the company of Robespierre, but Camille also was known as a companion to another major player, George Danton. Unlike Bernard who lived through the revolution, and whose wife Rosalie did as well, Camille and his wife Lucille were both killed in the Revolution.

Bibliography
Castelot, Andre. Queen of France: A Biography of Marie Antoinette. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1957.

Durant, Will and Ariel. Rousseau and Revolution: A History of Civilzation in France, England, and Germany from 1756, and in the Remainder of Europe from 1715, to 1789. New York: MJF Books, 1967.

Furet, Francois, and Denis Richet. French Revolution. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1970.

Lefebvre, Georges. The French Revolution: from its origins to 1793. New York: Columbia University Press, 1962.

Manceron, Claude. Toward the Brink. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1983.

Zweig, Stefan. Marie Antoinette: The Portrait of an Average Woman. New York: The Viking Press, 1933.