What does let them eat cake mean

In My Humble Opinion
1

Supposedly Marie antionette didn’t say it, but is there consensus of the meaning? I’ve heard several interpretations.

It showed she was out of touch and didn’t understand that the poor didn’t have cake.

She meant it as a blowoff because she knew they didn’t have cake, it was sarcasm.

Bakers at the time had to sell cake as an alternative if bread wasn’t available, it was legitimate advice.

Cake is a metaphor for shit, she was blowing them off.

Cake is a metaphor for another food the poor had access to, but I forget which.

2

I have always heard it used as a snide remark, such as saying you don’t have a car and someone responding then go by private jet!

3

Given the variety of theories, let’s move this to IMHO.

Colibri
General Questions Moderator

4

This is the one. The line is delivered as to generate a laugh from fellow aristocrats .

Basically, it means ‘Fuck the poor. It’s their own fault for being so poor’.

Cecil’s take:

5

There have been a number of studies and as I understand it, the consensus is that she did no say that or anything like it. It was simply used to discredit her.

As to what it means today - yeah - stuff em, let em fend for themselves.

6

Let me just add that it wasn’t cake; it was brioche: “Qu’il mange de la brioche”. But it was probably intended to show her disdain for the people, or claim that didn’t care.

7

I’ve always heard the phrase as indicating a massive disconnect between the aristocracy and the poor, i.e. the ditzy princess who said it simply couldn’t comprehend the idea of anyone having no food at all to eat. It’s similar to saying, “What, they’re out of Big Macs? Why not have a Filet-O-Fish instead?” while oblivious to the fact that the McDonalds has in fact burned down.

8

The OP’s not clear on whether he means what the phrase means now or what message it was intended to give when the false rumor was first spread about her having said it.

9

There’s another excuse I’ve heard for it–that it was her being generous, saying that she would give the more expensive cake–perhaps from her own baker–to the poor since they didn’t have bread.

But the original meaning, as far as I can tell, is that she’s so out of touch with the poor that she didn’t realize that the poor didn’t have cake. And, yes, while that implies the poor and their plight didn’t matter to her, I don’t think they were accusing her of being deliberately callous.

Especially since the previous versions all seem to focus on naivete. It’s always some rich person who doesn’t understand why poor people aren’t eating just because they don’t have one thing.

The version used to call them cruel is “Let them eat hay.” You know, like cattle.

10

A previous thread which might help.

Poster Tammi Terrell is our resident expert on the phrase.

11

The first time I ever heard or read of this alleged quote (many years ago), the wording was “Let them eat grass.”

If the statement (whether real or merely alleged) was meant to indicate disdain toward the poor, or whatever it was supposed to mean, this version works much better!

12

Or possibly, “Sacré bleu! We’re out of pie!”

13

Another (but similar) interpretation would that that woman has simply lost her touch with reality. Being in her own rich aristocrat world, that is.

This is also somewhat common thinking in upper management and similar positions in this days.
Jees. Guys, go down and try to mingle with forklift drivers. Simple cure.