Today is a very special day: the 40th anniversary of the anime premiere of The Rose of Versailles. Based on a manga by Riyoko Ikeda, the show followed various personages in and around the French Revolution. Historical figures including Marie Antoinette and Axel von Fersen were major characters of the story, but there was also Oscar François de Jarjayes, a woman who was raised as a man who would go on to lead the Palace Guards and eventually fight for revolution during the infamous Storming of the Bastille. For the vast majority of the series, it was a grounded political drama that detailed the interpersonal drama of 18th century French royalty.
Of course, as a fictional shojo anime and not actual history, not everything in Rose of Versailles was entirely accurate. Plenty of characters were made up, and other scenes could be said to have been highly dramaticized for the sake of the narrative. So the question remains: how accurate are these characters and events compared to what we know about French history?
For the sake of brevity, we won't belabor every single detail from the show. We’ll mostly concentrate on the major characters in the show and how they were depicted. This would include Marie Antoinette herself, her political relationships, the character of Rosalie Lamorliere, and exactly how their arcs line up with actual historical facts.
First things first: let’s get the purely fictional stuff out of the way. For starters, Oscar was entirely made up. Her childhood friend and companion Andrė Grandier was also fictional, as were their individual interactions with many actual players within 18th century French government. They were largely part of the background of historical government conspiracy and anarchy, and would play key roles in rallying French citizens during the Storming of the Bastille. Both met tragic ends during the riots and died as part of the Revolution, but their adventures were indeed figmentary.
It’s worthy to note that Oscar’s father—François Augustin Regnier de Jarjayes—was in fact, a real person. He served as an actual French lieutenant-general and did father several children, though Oscar was never one of them.
Aside from the fictional characters, much of the political drama and scandal has basis in historical fact. Marie Antoinette, of course, was a notorious French monarch who represents a turning point in all of French history. Much like in real life, she was initially revered as the Dauphine, wooing the public with her beauty and sociability. She provided the common people with hope for a better country as France was in the middle of an economic crisis. While in the anime she exercised a form of charity by providing members of her aristocracy with some financial aid, she was much more frivolous with her wealth.
Enamored by her newfound status both as the Dauphine and the eventual queen, she spent much of her money on gambling, fashion, and other luxuries. This, of course, was at the expense of the French people, who were taxed heavily throughout her rule. She was also known for her social rivalries and romantic scandals with other members of the aristocracy, even as she served as queen.
One of Marie’s rivals, and the series’ first major antagonist, came in the form of King Louis XV’s mistress, Madame du Barry. Marie immediately found her former life as a prostitute distasteful, and made it a point to openly reject any sort of camaraderie with her. As the French socialites around them began to take sides, their rivalry was instantly sparked.
Madame du Barry was very real, though she was born and lived as Jeanne Bėcu. In her early life, she was highly regarded within Parisian society for her career as a courtesan who held favor with several aristocrats. She was also extremely disliked among the rest of aristocracy, chiding and gossiping about Jeanne and how she slept her way to her status. True to life, they were instant rivals as Jeanne sought to outshine Marie by flaunting expensive fashion at every encounter with her, trying to maintain her lifestyle as her position of power was threatened by Marie's presence. In turn, Marie made it a point not to interact or acknowledge Madame du Barry’s presence at royal gatherings. As dictated by royal greetings, doing so would essentially bring them to equal standing, an idea that Marie-Antoinette detested.
One particular interaction between them was fully realized in the anime. Du Barry often complained to King Louis XV himself about Marie’s behavior. As the aristocrats urged Marie to openly acknowledge her presence lest she incur the king’s retaliation, she finally relented. During a New Year’s ball in 1772, she indirectly tosses a comment her way, stating “There are many people in Versailles today,” in an attempt to offer as blase a greeting as possible to her. In the anime, this is depicted as a major loss for Marie-Antoinette in her unspoken battle of attrition with Du Barry, having felt she sacrificed her values in the process. While the drama itself might be conjecture, Marie did indeed employ this tactic as a way of extending an arm to Du Barry and easing their conflict.
With the passing of Louis XV, their rivalry came to a close. Marie had her husband, the newly-appointed king, exile Du Barry from the kingdom. In the anime, she vowed to return and reclaim her high standing. In reality, she spent the rest of her days with nuns at a French commune in Meaux-en-brie.
Rose of Versailles also adapted Marie’s long-running relationship with Hans Axel von Fersen. Fersen was a Swedish aristocrat who quickly gained popularity in the French court. Over time, he developed a strong connection with Marie-Antoinette, and would be accepted into her inner circle.
In reality, the nature of their relationship was only heavily rumored, and was even supplemented with gossip about other secret lovers. The queen’s preferential treatment of Fersen could almost certainly be likened to something more intimate. In the anime, their love for each other was far more explicit. They would spend nights together discreetly and belabor their constant struggle between their royal duties and their feelings for the other. It was even played off as a poorly-kept secret in the anime, and only added to the criticism of Marie’s frivolity. The anime also depicted Fersen's temporary departure to fight in an American war in 1780, likely trying to avoid any further scandal and gossip on Marie-Antoinette's behalf.
After Marie’s execution, Fersen became very cold-hearted and was eventually killed by his own people in the anime. History tells us that Fersen lived for several years after the Revolution, but would eventually meet his end in 1810 after leading a political faction against Swedish Crown Prince August.
Aside from Marie Antoinette and her legacy, another character who arguably saw a larger departure from historical fact was that of Rosalie Lamolière. In the anime, Rosalie was a key figure among French royalty. She was portrayed as the illegitimate daughter of one Gabrielle de Polastron, a singer who quickly gained Marie’s favor. Separated from her birth mother, she was taken in by a common woman who raised her for several years until her untimely death via a royal carriage accident. Gabrielle, who was in the carriage at the time, became the object of Rosalie’s quest for revenge. After encountering Oscar, Rosalie received some combat training in order to survive.
The closer she got to her revenge, however, the more she became embroiled in French government conspiracy. As the series progressed and both Rosalie and her birth mother were driven to desperation, Gabrielle presented her daughter with a choice. She could either go with her mother to live among the aristocracy or she would implicate Oscar in the Affair of the Diamond Necklace. This was a conspiracy largely enacted by her foster sister, Jeanne de Valois-Saint-Rėmy, in which Marie-Antoinette was accused of defrauding French jewelers into creating an extravagant diamond necklace. She reluctantly accepted the offer and was largely absent for the rest of the series, save for a few guest appearances.
After the Storming of the Bastille and Marie-Antoinette’s incarceration, Rosalie returned and would serve as the former queen’s final servant. As she awaited her trial and execution, Rosalie and Marie bonded over their mutual infatuation with Oscar. All that sounds too good to be true, right? That’s because it most certainly is. While Rosalie’s character arc in Rose of Versailles was fraught with drama and suspense, the real Rosalie’s life could hardly be said to be as extravagant. Rosalie was indeed Marie Antoinette’s handmaiden during her imprisonment, but the similarities stop there. According to a French biographical text, Rosalie was born to a shoemaker and his wife, the latter of whom actually died when Rosalie was young. She certainly wasn’t an illegitimate child of aristocracy, nor did she become involved in French royal scandal during her lifetime. Many details of her character, however, do have basis in historical fact.
Gabrielle de Polastron was a real aristocrat who curried Marie-Antoinette’s favor. As also depicted in the anime, she took advantage of both the queen’s wealth and their friendship. Wanting her new friend as close to her as possible, she used French taxes to settle Gabrielle’s debts and offer living quarters at the Royal Palace. She would go on to receive positions of power at the queen’s side, much to the disapproval of Marie-Antoinette’s peers and advisors. After the Storming of the Bastille, Gabrielle and her family were exiled and relocated to Switzerland. She and Marie-Antoinette wrote letters to each other while the latter was in prison. She passed away in Austria in 1793.
Jeanne de Valois-Saint-Rėmy was depicted as Rosalie’s foster sister who grew up under the care of the same adoptive mother. She also served as another major antagonist in the show. While they weren’t related in any way, Jeanne was still an important figure in the build-up to the French Revolution. In both French history and Rose of Versailles, she was a con artist who lied and cheated her way into fancy balls and royal events that were well above her station. Both met similarly tragic ends, albeit through different causes. In real life, Jeanne died after falling from a window in an attempt to escape debt collectors, while her anime counterpart died in an explosion along with her husband.
And of course, many of the major historical events in Rose of Versailles did occur in reality. The Storming of the Bastille is one of the most infamous riots of the French Revolution, and the Affair of the Diamond Necklace was a real scandal that further tarnished Marie Antoinette’s reputation. There was also the Tennis Court Oath depicted in the show, which was one of the most pivotal stepping stones toward the more spectacular events. This vote to demand amendments to French government was the first time French citizens took firm and solid opposition against King Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette. In the anime, Oscar was directly involved in helping the citizens of the National Assembly rally, but they received no such inside help in real life.
As a historical drama, Rose of Versailles certainly had its fair share of historical accuracy. Major French historical figures were featured with depth and truth, albeit with a little splash of anime drama. Of course, there were plenty of exaggerations in the storytelling as well. Rosalie’s backstory received a major overhaul when compared to the ho-hum life of the source material, and Oscar’s conflict over her gender identity as well as her dedication to the people were welcome, if not fantastical, additions to French history.
Could it replace world history textbooks as study material? Not entirely. But an anime like Rose of Versailles could most certainly help you retain plenty of historical information, all wrapped up in a gripping narrative to boot.
Know any other French historical facts in the show that we didn't touch upon? What other historical anime are your favorites? Drop a comment and let us know!
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Carlos is a freelance features writer for Crunchyroll. Their favorite genres range from magical girls to over-the-top robot action, yet their favorite characters are always the obscure ones. Check out some of their satirical work on The Hard Times.
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I think I figured it out. Any time a convention moves you sort of have to learn the rhythms of the new venue. You spend a bit of time just learning the best places to eat, where the various panel rooms are, which entrances to use and when, plus various shortcuts, tricks, and conveniences. If you remember the labyrinth that was Baltimore Convention Center it was infamous for getting newbies lost and turned around whenever they arrived for their freshman Otakon. Also, it was easy to underestimate how long it could take to get anywhere thanks to some atrocious bottlenecks. By the final Otakon in Baltimore, I could navigate that place like the back on my hand but it took some hard knocks to get that experience.
Here’s chapter 37 (Mad Bull 34 manga): 
