Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on JULY 14, 2015. It was updated on October 17, 2023, to fix a broken link for a better reader experience
July 14 is celebrated in France as Bastille Day. In France, it is formally called La Fête nationale. This day commemorates the beginning of the French Revolution with the Storming of the Bastille. I’m going to take a different spin on the French Revolution and write about one of its tragic figures, Queen Marie Antoinette, and a very unlikely topic.
Never in a million years would I have thought that I would post an article about breastfeeding. Not that it’s a personal taboo, but I could not envision how the topic fits into my personal spheres of interest. Well, as the old saying goes: “Never say never”.
So, what brought me to writing this post on Bastille Day? Here are the personal-interest dots this article connects:
- Marie Antoinette (one of my favorite queens)
- European history
- Women’s issues
- Child development
The French queen, Marie Antoinette, was an important supporter of the movement towards motherhood, breastfeeding instead of employing a wet nurse. According to historian Antonia Fraser, Marie Antoinette attempted to breastfeed her first child, Marie Thérèse. After 18 days, she stopped breastfeeding her infant either on her physician’s or her husband’s directive.
Fellow blogger Anna Gibson wrote an interesting post about the social practice of employing wet nurses and motherhood breastfeeding during the 17th – 18th centuries. The post provides a short social history lesson and includes beautiful paintings spotlighting the topic. Read more here.
A key thinker during this timeframe was Austrian political philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. His opinions were not only influential drivers of the French Revolution but also in child development theory. I draw your attention to the interesting aside conversations in the comments on Anna’s blog post. It looks like the idiom “Do as I say, not as I do” applies to Mr. Rousseau. You’ll have to read the comments to get the complete gist of my remarks.
The most touching takeaway from the article for me was this example of the generosity of King Louis XVI and his queen, Marie Antoinette.
After the birth of her daughter, Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI decided to pay for the weddings of one-hundred men and women to be blessed at the cathedral of Notre Dame. In addition to giving 500 francs to each of the newly married women, Marie Antoinette arranged to help pay for the care of the first child from each union–if the new mother decided to employ a wet nurse, 10 livres would be sent per month until the child was done breastfeeding; if the new mother breastfed her own child, 15 livres would be sent per month until breastfeeding was no longer necessary.
Although she was unable to breastfeed her own children, Marie Antoinette still encouraged other women to practice what Rousseau considered necessary for the foundation of a blissful domestic life.
Editorial Update: We strive to keep our content accurate and up-to-date. As part of our ongoing efforts, this article has been moved from Family to PARENTING & FAMILY on 09/10/2023.
