Yolande de Polastron - Legacy

Legacy

Gabrielle de Polastron has left her mark in history and it can be seen in history books, novels, movies and other media. In 1979, she was one of the major characters (albeit a scheming one) in "The Rose of Versailles", a shōujo manga/anime created by Riyoko Ikeda. She was portrayed by Rose Byrne in the 2006 film Marie Antoinette and by Virginie Ledoyen in the 2012 film Farewell, My Queen.

Her critics among historians have argued that the duchesse de Polignac typified the aristocratic hangers-on at the court of Versailles before the French Revolution and that she embodied the exclusivity, the obliviousness and the selfish extravagance of the ruling class. However, more sympathetic historians, such as Pierre de Nolhac and the marquis de Ségur, agree that most of the problems originated with her entourage and that she was certainly no worse than any of some of the aristocrats or favourites who had preceded her at Versailles.

Assessments of her character aside, it is generally agreed that she was one of the key figures in the ultra-monarchist movement throughout the early summer of 1789, acting under the influence of her friend, the comte d'Artois.