Marie Antoinette was not very popular to the French. Although she was married to king Louis XVI, it was rumored that she had numerous affairs. Not only that, but the French people hated her for her Austrian blood and her formerly frivolous ways. The queen was blamed for the country's financial problems. It is true that she enjoyed a lavish lifestyle; her mother wrote to warn her that "a queen can only degrade herself by this sort of heedless extravagance in difficult times." Marie Antoinette however, was not quite as foolish and spoiled as the public believed. It was certainly not true that that she said "Let them eat cake" when told that people were starving. As a woman and a foreigner, she made a convenient scapegoat for the nation's problems. .
As the queen matured, she became less extravagant. She tried to change her image by wearing simple gowns and posing for portraits with her children, but her efforts had little effect on the unforgiving public. .
When the French Revolution erupted in 1789, many of the causes were focused on Marie Antoinette. On October 5th a mob of Parisian women marched on Versailles, shouting for the queen's blood. Some of the members of the mob were actually men just dressed in dresses, under the theory that royal troops were less likely to fire upon women. .
When the queen heard about the mob she remained calm. "I know they have come from Paris to demand my head, but I learned from my mother not to fear death and I shall await it with firmness," she had said. When the women appeared outside the palace, Lafayette advised her to show herself on the balcony. She bravely stepped out and faced them alone. Voices shouted to shoot her, but then Lafayette joined her, bowed to her and kissed her hand. After doing this he was considered a hero, by impressing the crowd. The mob then cheered, "Long live the queen!".
Their lives temporarily spared, the king and queen and their children were taken to Paris and imprisoned in the Tuileries palace.
