ABSTRACT
Chapter 4 gathers data collected through the hermeneutical analysis (Scott 1990) of the relevant sources composing the historical and cinematic narratives associated with the historical figure of Marie Antoinette. This chapter analyses first the public image of the last Queen of France as conveyed by relevant French historical works to date, including an evaluation of eighteenth-century Revolutionary pamphlets and their effect on Marie Antoinette’s image. Central to this chapter’s analysis are twentieth- and twenty-first century biographers of Marie Antoinette, who have had a direct influence over cinematic narratives as sources of inspiration. The chapter continues to investigate the cinematic narrative surrounding Marie Antoinette. Field research proved this study to be fundamental, since American and Japanese visitors in particular use popular culture media sources as reference points for their perception of the site and its former owner. The cinematic productions considered are Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette (2006) and, albeit a cinematically illustrated book rather than a film, Riyoko Ikeda’s manga, Rose of Versailles (1972). The former is significant to the process of promoting the Petit Trianon to new audiences since 2006, and the latter has an important influence over Japanese visitor perceptions.
