The Bourbon Family Dynamics

Marie Antoinette's integration into the Bourbon family proved more challenging than her adaptation to court protocol. Louis XV, her grandfather-in-law, was superficially welcoming but remained focused on his own pleasures, particularly his relationship with Madame du Barry, his official mistress. This relationship would become Marie Antoinette's first major political challenge.

The king's daughters, known collectively as "Mesdames," presented another obstacle. Adelaide, Victoire, and Sophie were unmarried women in their thirties and forties who had spent their entire lives at Versailles. They initially welcomed Marie Antoinette, seeing in her a potential ally against du Barry, but their guidance often served their own agenda rather than the dauphine's best interests.

Most complicated was her relationship with Louis-Auguste himself. Contemporary accounts paint a picture of two teenagers utterly unprepared for marriage. The dauphin was shy, more interested in hunting and locksmithing than in his bride. He suffered from a physical condition (likely phimosis) that made consummation of the marriage impossible for seven years—a fact that became an open secret at court and a source of endless gossip and speculation.

Marie Antoinette's letters to her mother during this period reveal her confusion and distress. She tried to be a good wife, sharing Louis-Auguste's interests, praising his good qualities, but his coldness and awkwardness left her isolated. Maria Theresa's responses, while sympathetic, constantly reminded her daughter that producing an heir was her primary duty, adding pressure to an already strained situation.

The servants who attended the royal couple noticed the peculiarities of their relationship. The valets reported that the dauphin often fell asleep immediately after getting into bed, while Marie Antoinette's ladies found her in tears on many mornings. Yet there were also moments of companionship—they rode together, attended opera performances, and gradually developed a genuine affection, even if it lacked passion.