Why did Marie Antionette say “Let them eat cake”?
“Let them eat cake…” is a translation of the French phrase “qu’ils mangent de la brioche.” It should be noted that brioche is actually a type of highly enriched bread, rather than any type of dessert or confection. Let them eat cake was said 100 years before her by Marie-Therese, the wife of Louis XIV. It was a callous and ignorant statement and Marie Antoinette was neither. The myth goes like this; In Ancient Rome the emperor would give the people bread and gladiator shows to keep them subdued.
