What kind of a king was Louis XIV of France, and how did his self-presentation hold up in the eyes of his courtiers and subjects? What did ″absolute monarchy″ look like in practice, during his reign? One hundred years later, did it look any different when Marie Antoinette came to Versailles in 1770? Address this question by formulating a historical argument and defending it by (required) making direct use of (i.e., quoting) the texts discussed in class for Class Discussion 3 (″The Court of Louis XIV″ by Saint-Simon, and the ″Parable of the Troglodytes″ by Montesquieu) and Discussion 4 (″The Private Life of Marie Antoinette″ by Madame Campan) in your analysis.
